John Nordgren

Founder & Managing Director
Bainbridge Island, WA

John has spent his career working at the intersection of science and policy and in pursuit of durable solutions that bring people and nature together for the mutual benefit of both. John has expertise in conservation science, policy, and climate change adaptation. He is a nationally recognized leader and champion for the climate adaptation and resilience field.

John developed and launched the Climate Resilience Fund (CRF) in 2017 and currently serves as its Managing Director. John is also Principal of Foresight Partners, Inc., a consultancy focused in part on helping foundations more effectively incorporate climate considerations into their grantmaking programs and the work of their grantees. He previously served as Senior Advisor, Climate Change (2015) for the Michigan-based Kresge Foundation and as Senior Program Officer (2009-2014) for Kresge’s Environment Program, where he developed and implemented Kresge’s strategies for advancing the field of climate change adaptation, facilitating over $60M in investments over a seven-year tenure.

John has served on the National Academy of Sciences Board on Atmospheric Science and Climate (BASC) and was a founding member of the Board of Directors for EcoAdapt, Inc. He currently serves as board member and treasurer for the American Society of Adaptation Professionals. He has also served for ten years as a member of the Advisory Committee for the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Climate Adaptation Fund, a project of the Doris Duke Foundation focused on wildlife habitat conservation in a changing climate, which he helped to develop.

Prior to joining Kresge, John was Program Officer for the Henry P. Kendall Foundation in Boston, where he led the Foundation’s Northeastern Landscape Conservation Program and developed and led Kendall’s Climate Adaptation Program (2006-08). He was previously Director of Programs for the Massachusetts-based Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences and worked in the Legislative Program of the Natural Resources Defense Council in Washington, D.C.  John earned his B.A. in public policy from The American University in Washington, D.C. and M. A. in environmental policy from Tufts University in Medford, MA. John was raised in NJ and called New England home for many years, but currently lives in the Pacific Northwest with his family with whom he spends as much time as possible hiking, kayaking and growing vegetables.