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Chesapeake Bay Foundation President to Keynote Commencement
Hilary Harp Falk will address graduates during the May 13 ceremony in TowneBank Arena
University News | March 30, 2023
President and CEO of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation Hilary Harp Falk will serve as keynote speaker for the Virginia Wesleyan University Commencement Ceremony Saturday, May 13.
The ceremony will be held on campus at 10:00 a.m. in TowneBank Arena in the Jane P. Batten Student Center and will be livestreamed on the VWU Digital Broadcasting Network.
In her role with Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF), Falk leads the largest nonprofit conservation organization dedicated solely to preserving, protecting, and restoring the bay. She has spent her career building strong, authentic partnerships, and is a proven expert in large-scale ecosystem restoration and leading organizational change.
Falk’s national conservation leadership includes several executive roles at the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), culminating in Chief Program Officer. She created and directed the Choose Clean Water Coalition, bringing together more than 200 advocacy organizations working together to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay. During her time at the Federation, she led programs including wildlife conservation, coastal resiliency, water policy, greenhouse gas reduction, and environmental education.
Throughout her career, Falk has championed women’s leadership and advancing equity in the conservation movement. She was a 2016-2017 fellow with the International Women's Forum and co-chaired the National Wildlife Federation’s Women in Conservation Leadership Advisory Council. She led the implementation of NWF’s foundational 2018 strategic plan and was a champion for a more equitable and inclusive workplace.
Falk began her career in environmental conservation as an intern with CBF in 1997. She earned her undergraduate degree in environmental science from Franklin and Marshall College and her Master of Science in Natural Resources from the University of Vermont. Between her undergraduate and graduate studies, Falk returned to CBF and spent three years at the Port Isobel Island Education Center teaching students of all ages—children, teachers, farmers, and decision-makers—about the Bay and its ecologically sensitive island communities.
Falk’s commitment and passion for conservation stems from a childhood spent exploring the edges of the Chesapeake Bay with her father, a professional photographer. She lives in Annapolis, Maryland with her husband and two children. She is CBF's third leader since the organization was chartered in 1967.
Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson, Virginia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, will serve as Baccalaureate speaker on May 12 as part of the University's Commencement Ceremonies.
The Virginia Wesleyan University Commencement Ceremony will be livestreamed on the VWU Digital Broadcasting Network. Additional information is available on the Commencement webpage.