Stephanie K. Meeks

Stephanie Meeks "serves as the President and CEO of Counterpart International (Counterpart). Counterpart is a human development and humanitarian organization that has current and past programs in more than sixty countries. Its 350 staff implements a project portfolio exceeding $175 million.

"Stephanie joined the organization in November 2008 as the third president in the organization's 45-year history. She has initiated a comprehensive strategic positioning exercise called "Counterpart 3.0" to build on Counterpart's historical successes and position it for growth and even greater development impact. As part of this strategy, the organization has adopted an initiative to study climate change adaptation and to design climate resiliency into its programs. The organization is also exploring ways to expand and diversify its funding and build its brand awareness.

"Prior to Counterpart, Stephanie was the Acting President and CEO and Chief Operating Officer at The Nature Conservancy, one of the largest and most influential conservation organizations. In these roles, she was responsible for mobilizing 4,000 employees in 35 countries, and an operating budget exceeding $1 billion.

"She has led the three largest private fundraising campaigns in the history of natural resource conservation including the successful $1.6 billion Campaign for Conservation. Stephanie has extensive marketing experience that ranges from brand positioning to public relations. She has been responsible for developing brand strategy, publishing an award winning magazine, developing web strategy, and managing public and media relations. She is a frequent public speaker and has addressed business and government leaders on several continents. In 2007, she spoke at the U.N. Forum on Climate Change in Bali, Indonesia and in February 2008 testified before the Unites States Congress on climate policy.

"Stephanie received her Master of Business Administration from George Washington University and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Colorado. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of RARE, an organization that uses best practices in social marketing to influence natural resource conservation. She is also the Secretary of the Board of the Potomac Conservancy the mission of which is to protect the integrity of the Potomac River watershed."