Ben Packard, Executive Director, EarthLab at the University of Washington

Pronouns: he/him/his

Ben Packard serves as the Harriet Bullitt Endowed Executive Director of EarthLab at the University of Washington, an initiative that harnesses the power of collaboration to tackle thorny environmental challenges including climate change, ocean health, natural hazards and healthy ecosystems. Ben is responsible for working strategically within and beyond the University to promote new learning and action to address environmental challenges by building relationships between the University and public, private and nonprofit sectors. Before coming to EarthLab, Ben served as the Global Managing Director of Corporate Engagement at The Nature Conservancy (TNC). In this senior management role, Ben was accountable for TNC’s overall corporate engagement strategy in service of the mission to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends. From 1998-2013 Ben worked at Starbucks Coffee Company, serving as vice president, Global Responsibility from 2008-2013. He was part of the original team at Starbucks that established the world-class sustainability strategy for the company. Ben received a BA in History (1989) from Kenyon College an MBA & Certificate in Environmental Management from the University of Washington Foster School of Business (1998).