In the Tanks — Charles Gauvin

Although Gauvin, 55, has spent much of his career in environmental policy, his extensive leadership and fundraising experience could make him a good fit for Carnegie. He earned his undergraduate degree from Brown University and then taught environmental policy for four years at Brown before attending law school at the University of Pennsylvania. Gauvin graduated in 1985 and practiced at Beveridge & Diamond, an environmental law firm in Washington, from 1986 to ’91.

 

He left private law practice to become the executive director of Trout Unlimited, one of the nation’s leading conservation organizations for coldwater fisheries. When Gauvin became CEO, the group had about 50,000 members, an annual budget of $2.5 million, and only one staff person who worked on conservation issues. Gauvin led an aggressive fundraising effort that increased the annual operating budget to more than $26 million. By the time he retired from Trout Unlimited in 2010, it had 140,000 members and more than 130 professional staff members.

 

Gauvin is making the transition to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, in part because he has become frustrated with the increasing partisanship in conservation over the past several decades. Disagreement about even the scientific fundamentals behind environmental research, particularly climate change, is getting in the way of moving projects forward on a national level, he says. “It’s just a big partisan wrangle. We are just so far from the intense environmental consciousness and activism among our leaders that characterized the ’70s.”

 

Gauvin wants to “instill and nurture a culture of philanthropy” at Carnegie, especially by raising endowment and program money to support global expansion. He is committed to developing a philanthropy network “from the inside out”—by tapping into the think tank’s advisory board members and other individual contacts.

 

“Carnegie is at a critical moment in its development; as we enter our second century, it is essential that our fundraising initiatives reflect the rapid pace of our global expansion,” Carnegie President Jessica Mathews said in a statement. “Charles is uniquely positioned to lead those efforts. His intelligence, leadership abilities, and extensive experience and success in fundraising made this a very exciting choice for us.”