All Natural

“THIS IS THE ONLY NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION I WOULD have left my job for,” O’Mara says in late July, three weeks after becoming president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation (NWF).

O’Mara, who grew up in Syracuse, New York, spent his career in local government—until now. After studying at the University of Oxford as a Marshall Scholar and, later, the Syracuse University Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, he became the clean tech strategist in San Jose, California, where he designed the city’s Green Vision program. In 2009 he was tapped to lead the Dela- ware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, making him the youngest state cabinet official in the United States.

Then NWF called. “It’s an opportunity to make wildlife and the real outdoors more relevant in the technology age, and connect with people in a way that has tremendous benefits, whether it’s health and wellness or academic performance,” O’Mara says. NWF is the country’s largest and oldest con- servation group. Its work, which emphasizes grassroots and broad-base outreach and education, is especially important today, he says, when the average child spends around 50 hours a week in front of a screen and less than 30 minutes a week in unstructured outdoor play. O’Mara plans to change that ratio.

“There’s a quote I use: ‘You only conserve what you love, only love what you understand and only understand what you’re taught,’” he says. “If folks develop an undying love for the out- doors, if they’re invested in it, they’re more likely to defend nature for current and future generations.”

O’Mara believes that without a personal introduc- tion to nature, “each generation becomes further disconnected from wildlife.” <<<<

“ only love what you understand and only understand what you’re taught.”