Executive Director

Nick Hardigg

nhardigg@alaskaconservation.org

Nick joined ACF as executive director in January 2007. Originally from New Hampshire, he received a bachelor's degree with honors (Sigma Xi) in environmental science from Wesleyan University and an MBA focusing on nonprofit management from Yale University. While at Wesleyan, Nick launched Connecticut's first statewide acid rain monitoring network by engaging students statewide in data collection. He has worked as an environmental filmmaker (receiving two Telly Awards) and first saw Alaska during a scientific expedition to the Arctic.

Nick originally moved to Alaska in 1998; while studying for his MBA, an internship with the National Parks Conservation Association brought him to Denali to write a business plan. In 1999, he became Denali National Park’s chief of business management, where he expanded nonprofit partnerships, including creation of the Murie Science and Learning Center. Nick also launched Denali’s Alaska Native interpretation program, currently viewed by over 100,000 visitors per year.

In 2002, Nick was promoted to oversee the largest concession program in the National Park System at Grand Canyon National Park. In 2004, he returned to his roots in the nonprofit sector by joining The Nature Conservancy in Oregon. In 2007, Nick and his wife, Karen moved back to Alaska, where she works on Tongass conservation issues. In his free time, Nick enjoys fishing, bike commuting on the Anchorage trail system, assisting Alaska nonprofits, and spending time with his baby boy, Ashe.