Board of Directors Launch Nationwide Search

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Annapolis, Md. – Today, Chesapeake Conservancy’s Board of Directors announced that President and CEO Joel Dunn, after 14 years of exceptional service, will resign at the end of 2024. Upon Dunn’s departure, EJ Amyot, currently chief operating officer at the Conservancy, will serve as interim president and CEO of the Annapolis-based nonprofit, and a nationwide search for Chesapeake Conservancy’s next leader will commence immediately. Dunn will be joining the Campaign for Nature, which is working to protect and conserve at least 30% of the world’s land and ocean by 2030.

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“We are enormously grateful to Joel for his leadership and focus on teamwork, dedication and innovation in the field of conservation,” said Chesapeake Conservancy Board Chair Stephanie Meeks. “Over the last 14 years, Chesapeake Conservancy helped create a national trail, two national monuments, a national park, a national marine sanctuary and significantly advanced a new national wildlife refuge and national recreation area for the Chesapeake. We’ve partnered to conserve thousands of acres of land, expand national wildlife refuges, create local parks, restore Chesapeake tributaries and empower the conservation movement with the latest groundbreaking data and technology. Our financial position is stronger than ever, and we are grateful to Joel for building a sustainable platform poised to make an even larger impact in the future.”

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“I am grateful to have been a part of Chesapeake Conservancy’s many achievements,” said Dunn. “We started this organization with a team of two people focused on the development of a water trail, and from those humble roots we have grown into an organization of nearly 50 dedicated and exceptional people. We’ve changed how conservation is implemented, and we’ve empowered the success of multiple partners throughout the watershed in the race to conserve 30% of the Chesapeake by 2030.”

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Amyot will focus on advancing the organization’s mission and operational planning. He brings over 18 years of nonprofit operations experience, having most recently served as vice president of operations at The Y in Central Maryland, one of the largest YMCA affiliates in the United States.

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Dunn was at the forefront of Chesapeake Conservancy’s growth since its inception. Chesapeake Conservancy’s many accomplishments during that period include:

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• development of the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail;
• advancement of the proposed Southern Maryland Woodlands National Wildlife Refuge and Chesapeake National Recreation Area;
• creation of Elktonia-Carr’s Beach Heritage Park;
• designation of Fort Monroe National Monument;
• expansion of George Washington and Jefferson National Forest by more than 4664 acres;
• establishment of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park and National Monument;
• designation of Mallows Bay – Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary;
• large landscape conservation in the Nanticoke River watershed totaling more than 3,450 acres;
• the return of 465 acres of the Rappahannock Tribe’s ancestral homeland at Fones Cliffs in the Rappahannock River Valley National Wildlife Refuge;
• conservation of more than 260 acres at Werowocomoco;
• expansion of Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge;
• opening 248 new public access sites; and,
• using artificial intelligence and groundbreaking high-resolution data to empower precision conservation

With a strong financial platform and dedicated team in place, Chesapeake Conservancy’s Board now seeks to find a dynamic new leader to guide its next phase as a pioneer within the conservation movement.

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