We are excited to welcome Nicole Netherton, who will join Pease Park Conservancy as the new Chief Executive Officer starting Monday, November 6! Nicole’s background is in nonprofit management for environmental conservation organizations, and she was most recently the Executive Director for Travis Audubon, a position she held for five and a half years.
“I am excited to be a steward of a place that is so important to Austin’s past, present, and future, both for people and for nature. Caring for green space in our cities affects our health and wellbeing, and we owe it to ourselves and Mother Nature to protect these spaces. We have to balance the needs of the people who love the Park and the needs of the ecosystem so that both can thrive.”
Nicole joins Pease Park Conservancy at a pivotal time when the Conservancy has accomplished a great deal for Pease Park, and has ambitious plans for the future of the space. After fundraising for and managing the renovation of the southernmost seven acres of Pease Park, the Conservancy reopened Kingsbury Commons to the public in the summer of 2021. With support from the City of Austin in the form of a Park Operations and Maintenance Agreement (POMA), the Conservancy has taken primary responsibility for the operations, maintenance, and programming of Kingsbury Commons and shared in responsibility for conservation efforts throughout the entire 84 acres of the park. Looking ahead, the Conservancy will work with the City on a plan to expand this incredible standard of care that the community now enjoys in Kingsbury Commons to all of Pease Park.
Nicole entered the nonprofit world in 2016 after being inspired by a life-changing trip to Antarctica: seeing the fragile ecosystem 7,000 miles from home sparked a shift toward environmental work. Before that, she had a 15 year career in marketing for a book publisher, and her professional background is in development, marketing, and management. Her professional passions include protecting wildlife and native ecosystems in Central Texas, increasing equitable access to nature, and mentoring women toward conservation careers. She is a Houstonian who found her spiritual home in Austin during her time at The University of Texas at Austin, but she also lived in (and loved) New York City in the early 2000s. She is a Capital Area Master Naturalist and a Master Birder, and is generally interested in all the ways people and nature are connected.
About joining the team of 14 staff members at Pease Park Conservancy, Nicole said, “I am so proud to join such a committed team and to partner with our friends at the City to take care of Pease Park and to tell the stories that make it so special. My goal is to serve the place and the communities who love it, now and for future generations.”
The Pease Park Conservancy Board and Staff are grateful for the exceptional leadership of Chuck Smith as interim CEO during the search and are excited to see him back full-time in his role as Chief Operating Officer.