Elizabeth Ruther

PROFILE

Elizabeth Ruther works in the Pacific Northwest to increase landscape resilience to climate change by protecting lands and waters, advancing freshwater connectivity, and promoting climate-ready policy and management. She also has worked to conserve coastal habitats, including estuaries and kelp forests, on the United States’ West Coast and helped lead efforts to elevate the importance of coastal natural climate solutions in Oregon.

Before coming to Pew, Ruther was state-federal relations coordinator for Oregon’s Coastal Management Program and an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist, and she worked in stream and wetlands restoration.

Ruther holds bachelor’s degrees in biology and environmental studies from the University of Minnesota and a master’s degree in environmental science and policy from Northern Arizona University. She is based in Portland, Oregon.