The bosses of the Environmental Defense Fund, World Wildlife Fund and National Audubon Society are the top-earning executives among major environmental and conservation groups, according to the most recent tax filings.
Carter Roberts and Fred Krupp, the leaders of WWF and EDF, respectively, both earned more than $1 million in total compensation, according to the latest publicly available tax records, ranking them among the best-paid leaders in the environmental movement.
Nonprofits are required to release their tax documents publicly, although their disclosure often lags by several years. The nonprofits’ most recent publicly available documents detail senior employees’ pay for calendar or tax years in 2023 or 2024.
Audubon CEO Elizabeth Gray and The Nature Conservancy’s CEO Jennifer Morris weren’t far behind, each earning compensation topping $900,000 in the most recent filings.
Other top earners in the latest records include former Greenpeace leader Ebony Twilley Martin — who left her position with a settlement payment — and Jamie Rappaport Clark, who received a bonus the year she left her job as head of Defenders of Wildlife.
POLITICO’s E&E News analyzed 27 environmental and conservation groups’ most recent tax filings, many of which were compiled by ProPublica. Here’s how much their bosses made in base pay and total compensation, which can include bonuses, retirement pay and other benefits:
1. Fred Krupp, president, Environmental Defense Fund
EDF’s leader since 1984, Krupp’s total compensation in the 2023 filing was $1,302,005, the tax records show.
2. Carter Roberts, president and CEO, World Wildlife Fund
Roberts has led the international conservation group since 2005. His reported compensation in 2023 was $1,290,569.
3. Elizabeth Gray, CEO, National Audubon Society
Gray has been the group’s permanent CEO since 2021. Her total compensation in 2023 was $951,881. That included a bonus of $256,250 “for her exceptional performance during her tenure at Audubon,” according to the filing.
4. Jennifer Morris, CEO, The Nature Conservancy
Morris has been the conservation group’s CEO since May 2020. Her total compensation in 2023: $927,416.
5. Ebony Twilley Martin, former executive director, Greenpeace
Martin left her job at Greenpeace in 2024 as the organization faced internal divisions over its response to a lengthy and expensive lawsuit filed by an oil company. Her total compensation was $875,670, according to the group’s 2024 tax filing. That included base pay of $241,749 in addition to a settlement and other benefits.
Greenpeace declined to provide the exact amount of the settlement, but said some of the payment detailed in the 2024 filing was deferred compensation that was paid out in 2025.
Sushma Raman is now serving as Greenpeace’s interim executive director.
6. Jamie Rappaport Clark, former president and CEO, Defenders of Wildlife
Clark, who led the conservation group from 2011 until 2024, received $861,062 in total compensation, according to the group’s 2024 filing. That included $208,750 in bonus and incentive compensation.
Andrew Bowman took over as the organization’s CEO in August 2024.
7. Manish Bapna, president and CEO, Natural Resources Defense Council
Bapna has led NRDC since 2021. His total compensation in 2023 was $799,994.
8. Collin O’Mara, president and CEO, National Wildlife Federation
O’Mara, who’s led the conservation group since 2014, earned total compensation of $756,599 in 2023.
9. Janis Searles Jones, CEO, Ocean Conservancy
Jones has led the ocean conservation group since 2017. Her total compensation in 2023: $723,325.
10. Ani Dasgupta, CEO, World Resources Institute
Dasgupta joined WRI in 2014 and became its leader in 2021. His total compensation in the organization’s 2023 filing was $671,704.
11. Theresa Pierno, former president and CEO, National Parks Conservation Association
Pierno stepped down from her role at NPCA earlier this year after leading the group since 2012. Her total compensation in the 2023 filing was $642,668.
Tiernan Sittenfeld started in March as the group’s new president and CEO.
12. Abbie Dillen, president, Earthjustice
Dillen has served as the green group’s leader since 2018. Her total compensation in 2023: $613,167.
13. Adam Putnam, CEO, Ducks Unlimited
The former Florida Republican congressman became CEO of the wildlife conservation group in 2019. His total compensation in the group’s 2023 filing was $598,074.
14. Diane Regas, former president and CEO, Trust for Public Land
Regas led the conservation group from 2018 until 2024. Her total compensation in the 2023 filing was $580,134. Carrie Besnette Hauser took over as president and CEO in October 2024.
15. Jim Simon, CEO, Oceana
Simon became Oceana’s CEO in July 2024 after spending two decades as the group’s president. His total compensation in the 2024 filing was $554,390.
16. Santiago Gowland, CEO, Rainforest Alliance
Gowland joined the global conservation nonprofit as CEO in May 2021. His total compensation in 2024 was $542,926.
17. Ben Jealous, former executive director, Sierra Club
Jealous started as Sierra Club’s leader in 2023 and was fired in 2025 when the group’s board voted to oust him, citing an “extensive evaluation of his conduct.” His total compensation in Sierra Club’s 2024 filing was $524,826.
Loren Blackford is now serving as Sierra Club’s executive director.
18. Jamie Williams, former president, The Wilderness Society
Williams led the conservation group from 2012 until September 2024. His total compensation in the organization’s 2023 filing: $509,193.
Tracy Stone-Manning is now president of The Wilderness Society. Williams moved over to the World Wildlife Fund as that group’s senior vice president of durable conservation and finance.
19. Christopher Wood, president and CEO, Trout Unlimited
Wood, who has led the fisheries conservation organization since 2010, earned $496,625 in total compensation, according to the 2023 filing.
20. Johanna Chao Kreilick, former president, Union of Concerned Scientists
Kreilick led UCS from 2021 until she resigned in early 2024. Her total compensation in the organization’s 2023 filing: $404,305.
Gretchen Goldman took over as UCS president in early 2025. Kreilick joined the firm Blue Ocean Law as its chief strategy officer in January 2026.
21. Gene Karpinski, former president, League of Conservation Voters
Karpinski stepped down in 2025 after leading the green group since 2006. Karpinski’s combined total compensation from LCV and its affiliated education fund in the 2024 filings: $403,967.
LCV last year hired Pete Maysmith as its president.
22. Kieran Suckling, executive director, Center for Biological Diversity
Suckling, who co-founded his environmental group in 1989, earned total compensation of $372,259, according to the group’s 2024 filing.
23. Ken Cook, president, Environmental Working Group
Cook co-founded the California-based environmental and public health group in 1993. His total compensation in the organization’s 2024 filing: $369,215.
24. Erich Pica, president, Friends of the Earth
Pica has led his environmental organization since 2009. His total compensation in the group’s 2023 filing was $277,801.
25. May Boeve, former executive director, 350.org
Boeve co-founded her group and spent 13 years leading it before she stepped down in September 2024. Her total compensation in 2023 was $222,513.
Anne Jellema joined 350.org as executive director in early 2025.
26. Wendy Wendlandt, president, Environment America
Wendlandt, whose group is part of the Public Interest Network, received a combined total compensation of $133,442 in total compensation from the network and Environment America in 2023.
27. Aru Shiney-Ajay, executive director, Sunrise Movement
Shiney-Ajay has led the youth-centered climate group since 2023. Her combined total compensation from the Sunrise Movement and its affiliated Sunrise Movement Education Fund in 2024: $80,000.
Zack Colman contributed to this report.
