Christy Goldfuss (she/her)

As NRDC's executive director, Christy Goldfuss is responsible for strengthening the organization’s advocacy, managing internal operations, and helping guide a new generation of executive leadership at a pivotal moment in environmental stewardship. 

Goldfuss joined NRDC in 2022 as chief policy impact officer, where she was responsible for strategic, operational, fundraising, and representation functions; overseeing the Environment, Equity & Justice Center; the Center for Policy Advocacy; the Science Office; and institutional communications. Prior to joining NRDC, she served as the managing director of the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), where she helped develop and implement the Obama administration’s environmental and energy policies, including the Climate Action Plan, which was President Obama's major initiative to combat climate change. She co-chaired the Council on Climate Preparedness and Resilience and identified priorities for protecting the country against the worst impacts of the climate crisis. While leading the CEQ, Goldfuss also advised on the creation of the National Environmental Policy Act climate guidance and testified repeatedly in the U.S. House of Representatives defending it. She also coordinated policy discussions on ozone pollution levels, the review of the coal leasing program, and conservation finance, to name a few. During Goldfuss’s time at the White House, she served as co-chair of the National Ocean Council, where she worked on a wide variety of issues. She oversaw the completion of the first federal seafood traceability regime to prevent illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. She also advised on the completion of the first two regional marine plans in New England and the mid-Atlantic, and assisted in collecting community input for the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Marine Monument and the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument.

Most recently, Goldfuss was the senior vice president for energy and environment policy at the Center for American Progress, where she worked in close partnership with a broad range of stakeholders to develop a climate investment strategy. This incentives-based approach to addressing climate change became the cornerstone of President Biden’s climate agenda and was enshrined into law through the Inflation Reduction Act.

Goldfuss also served as the deputy director of the National Park Service, where she helped lead efforts to set and meet strategic goals related to conservation and preservation of the country's natural and cultural heritage. She also created and directed the Public Lands Project at the Center for American Progress and worked on the legislative staff for the House Committee on Natural Resources.

A graduate of Brown University, Goldfuss is based in NRDC's Washington, D.C., office.