Chris Canfield

Chris is executive director for the Conservation Trust for North Carolina (CTNC). He leads the organization and its staff in protecting land along the Blue Ridge Parkway, assisting local land trusts, and connecting the diverse people of North Carolina to its diverse landscapes. Before joining CTNC, Chris worked with the National Audubon Society for 17 years as the executive director of Audubon North Carolina and the VP for the Gulf and Mississippi Flyway. Chris led Audubon’s response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill by successfully implementing Gulf-wide conservation efforts in concert with federal and state agencies, local communities, land trusts, and national funders. Chris also previously worked in development and communications at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as a U.S. Air Force officer in the Pentagon, and as a screenwriter in Hollywood. Growing up in Louisiana and Alabama, Chris developed an appreciation and understanding of the importance of natural resources and the communities and wildlife they support. He is committed to conservation solutions that honor these complex relationships, balancing environmental and economic needs. Chris graduated from Birmingham-Southern College with a B.A. in mathematics. He earned a M.Phil. in 20th-century English literature from the University of Oxford where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He served on the Advisory Board of the NC State University Natural Resources Leadership Institute and was a member of the Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition Steering Committee in Asheville.