Maine Audubon Executive Director Appointed to Pacific Peace Corps Post

Kevin Carley Ends Seven-Year Tenure with State’s Largest Wildlife Conservation Organization

FALMOUTH, Maine, July 1—Maine Audubon, the state’s largest wildlife conservation organization, will soon begin a search for an executive director to succeed Kevin Carley of Cumberland. Carley has been appointed Peace Corps country director for the Federated States of Micronesia and Palau.

Maine Audubon Business and Administration Director Sue Cilley of Yarmouth will serve as interim executive director.

Carley has led Maine Audubon since May 2001, following an investment management career and consulting on sustainable economic development in Central America and the Pacific Islands. His new position with the Peace Corps will allow him to return to the Pacific region.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to serve overseas, but making the decision to leave Maine Audubon was extremely difficult,” Carley said. “Our leadership work in conservation has never been stronger, and our commitment to environmental education, especially for young people, has never been more important. Our staff is among the most-qualified and dedicated of any team in the nation working for conservation.”

Among the highlights of Carley’s seven-year tenure at Maine Audubon is the Campaign to Protect the Future of Maine, a $7 million fundraising effort launched three years ago to support Maine Audubon’s conservation and education initiatives, and its nature centers and sanctuaries throughout the state. The campaign has raised $6.5 million in its first phase, and is on track to reach or exceed its goal by fall.

Under Carley’s direction, the organization has combined its signature, science-based analysis and broad-based public outreach to play a leadership role in major conservation decisions having statewide impact.

In recent, precedent-setting proceedings of Maine’s Land Use Regulation Commission, Maine Audubon successfully led efforts to ensure protections for wildlife when wind power projects are built in Maine. The organization also has prioritized its work to conserve the unique natural resources of Maine’s Northern Forest, the largest block of unfragmented habitat east of the Mississippi.

Maine Audubon’s advocacy in the Maine Legislature in recent years has helped to expand conservation of significant wildlife habitat, increase the number of species protected by Maine’s endangered species list, reform destructive forestry practices, bring Maine into a regional initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and win funding for riverfront community development and the Land for Maine’s Future program.

Carley also has presided over Maine Audubon’s growth as a statewide resource for environmental education. Outreach programs and science curricula bring Maine Audubon educators to classrooms, and school children to Maine Audubon nature centers and sanctuaries. The organization’s day programs and overnight trips help hundreds of adults explore and learn about Maine nature year round.

“Kevin Carley’s leadership of Maine Audubon will continue to have a lasting impact on conservation in our state,” said Karen Herold of Cumberland, president of Maine Audubon’s board of trustees. “He is leaving a strong organization well-positioned to continue making a real difference in Maine for wildlife and the next generation of environmental stewards.”

Herold said the organization will launch its executive director search next month.

MAINE AUDUBON works to conserve Maine’s wildlife and wildlife habitat by engaging people of all ages in education, conservation and action. For more than 160 years, Maine Audubon has been connecting people with nature and leading science-based conservation in major projects across the state. An independent affiliate of Audubon’s national organization, Maine Audubon has seven local chapters, 10 nature centers and sanctuaries, and 11,000 members and supporters.

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