Patricia Zurita steps down as BirdLife CEO after 8 years at helm

BirdLife International Global Council Chair Dr Mike Rands announced today that CEO Patricia Zurita will be leaving her role this July after eight years at the helm of the world’s largest and oldest partnership for the conservation of nature.

Zurita will be joining Conservation International as Chief Strategy Officer, returning to the United States where she lived and worked prior to coming to BirdLife.

“As a former CEO of BirdLife myself, I feel well equipped to salute her dynamic leadership, her passion for nature, and for enabling BirdLife to have ever more impact on the world’s birds and biodiversity.

Dr Mike Rands

Chair, BirdLife Council

Rands said, “As a former CEO of BirdLife myself, I feel well equipped to salute her dynamic leadership, her passion for nature, and for enabling BirdLife to have ever more impact on the world’s birds and biodiversity. I know the entire BirdLife family, our Partners, staff, advisors and all friends and supporters, join me in expressing our enormous gratitude for all she’s done for BirdLife. We wish her all the best for her new role with CI and look forward to continuing to work together for the conservation of nature globally .” 

Zurita said, “Thanks to the incredible BirdLife Partners around the globe her extraordinary staff, advisors and supporters, the organisation is entering its next 100 years poised to again have extraordinary conservation impact. I have been proud to lead BirdLife and of its many achievements. Together we campaigned on issues as diverse as saving the EU’s seminal nature laws, establishing the universal human right to a healthy planet, putting nature at the heart of fighting the climate crisis and saving the planet. We established important new marine, forest and grassland protected areas, seabird bycatch reduction records, globe-spanning island restoration, more than 700 species of globally threatened birds have benefited from our conservation work, 2 innovative global flyways initiatives – and this is but a partial list. I am forever grateful to have been part of the BirdLife family.” 

Dr Rands, together with BirdLife’s governing Global Council and Advisory Group, is embarking on a global search for the next CEO of BirdLife International.