Introducing Our New CEO

March 21, 2019

Dear Friends,

We are thrilled to announce that, after an extensive national search to find the best possible next CEO for Point Blue, we have hired Manuel “Mani” Oliva to lead the organization as we continue and grow our climate-smart conservation science work.

Mani is joining Point Blue with more than 25 years of experience working on climate change and other conservation issues. He joins the organization from the USDA, where he was the Acting Director within the Foreign Agricultural Service. In the past, Mani has held leadership positions with the US EPA, Conservation International, and the city of Washington, D.C. You can read his full bio here.

Our search process for a new CEO for Point Blue was thorough and rigorous. Along with the Board of Directors, Point Blue’s senior leadership team was intimately involved with the interview process and their input informed the Board’s final decision. Both Board and staff are very excited that Mani has agreed to join the organization, and Mani is equally enthusiastic. When notified that he was the Board’s choice for CEO, Mani replied, “I’m incredibly excited to join Point Blue as its next CEO. The organization’s dedication to conservation science and addressing the urgent climate challenges we face couldn’t be a better match for my skills and experience, as well as my own personal dedication to these issues. I’m inspired by the incredible array of partners Point Blue has developed over the past fifty years and I look forward to working with all of them alongside the organization’s fantastic staff.”

With a new CEO now in place, Point Blue is poised to achieve even greater success and impact with a brand new ambitious five-year strategic plan that was recently approved by the Board of Directors. The overall goal of our new strategic plan is to increase the pace, scale, and impact of the climate-smart conservation work we already do. We are building on the successes and lessons learned over the past five years, and doubling down on our innovative approach to climate-smart conservation. In case you missed it, you can read more about the new strategic plan in the latest issue of the Point Blue Quarterly.

We look forward to all of our supporters and partners getting to know Mani and will be providing a variety of opportunities for you to meet him as he settles into his role. Mani will be relocating to the Bay Area from Washington, D.C. and will start work at Point Blue on April 29.

Please join us in giving a warm welcome to Mani and, as always, thanks for all you do to support Point Blue!

Sincerely,

Megan and Geoff