By Anya Blaney
Maud Daudon has a beautiful vision and an outspoken voice. Whether writing about the impact of clean energy on the economy, the need for immigration reform, or how to connect youth to promising educational and professional opportunities, she can see what’s possible when people work together to create a better future.
As the Executive Leader of Career Connect Washington, she guides efforts to build a statewide learning and apprenticeship system across the state. On The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Washington Board of Trustees, she has utilized her years of leadership, extensive work in policy, and self-described “religion for the outdoors” to drive positive change and create pathways for a sustainable future for underrepresented groups.
Maud joined the TNC board when there was very little diversity on the board. Years later, she is proud to reflect on how much that has changed. Her work in this area, particularly in recruiting one potential board member to say “yes” is one of her favorite board memories.
“[Washington Executive Director] Mike Stevens invited me on a trip to visit the [Confederated Tribes of the] Colville Reservation and meet with Cody Desautel, who toured us to several sites to teach us about the tribe’s forest management practices,” Maud said. “On that trip, we learned about the incredible array of Cody’s responsibilities, including his recent appointment as interim executive director of the tribe. Mike and I had earlier spoken about how great it would be to get Cody to join the TNC board, and while his other responsibilities seemed to make this almost impossible, at the end of the day, I finally was able to get up the courage to ask if we could make him just a little busier…And to our great delight, he said yes.”
Cody said that by uniting the tribe’s longstanding practices and TNC’s scientific know-how they could go further faster, accomplish more, and make a greater impact. Through interacting with Cody, who is one of four currently serving board members from tribal communities, TNC has learned about fire management practices used for generations on tribal lands which could inform practices employed in other parts of the state and country.
"Listening to the diverse perspectives on our board strengthens our approach to strategy and policy,” Maud said. "It just makes sense to listen to the voice of people closest to some of these issues.”
The TNC in Washington staff relied on this perspective when crafting the Equity Statement, adopted in 2020 and later the Statement of Commitment to Indigenous Peoples.
"In the case of both of these statements, I so respected the way the staff managed the process," Maud said. "With the creation of the equity statement, a small group of staffers who were doing this in their volunteer time reached out to every single staff member of the TNC and said, 'What do you think?' They heard people's responses, and they incorporated their ideas."
Then, the staff brought the statement to the Nomination and Governance Committee, which Maud was chairing, requesting adoption by the organization. The next step was to go through the same process with each board member.
"Each member of the staff and board contributed to the statement, leading to a unanimous endorsement and tremendous commitment to and ownership over its content. It also laid the groundwork for how the organization was changing its culture and approach," Maud continued. "It was an aggressively clear statement about the intentional change we were seeking and an acknowledgment of the history of damage done through past work done by the environmental movement. I learned a lot doing this work, which helped inform my work in other arenas.”
Maud previously served as president and CEO of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce before leading Career Connect Washington, a network of business, labor, education, and community leaders, creating work-based and academic programs for young people to explore, prepare, and launch into college and careers. She aims to jump on the existing opportunities to prepare young people for climate change careers.
“TNC has been a big part of championing Washington’s transition to a clean energy future as quickly as possible,” she said. “To do so requires skills that not many people have today. Career Connect Washington partners with many applicants to create that new workforce of the future, exposing young people to jobs in every industry sector and getting them excited and plugged in during their elementary, middle school, and high school years.”
Maud credits her parents for inspiring her to use her voice to make an impact because of their involvement in organizations like United Way of Chicago and Planned Parenthood. Her mother, who was on the board of Planned Parenthood and very active for years, was instrumental in supporting abortion as a choice for women during early debates on this issue In Chicago.
“She stood up and got involved with people in the community and her fellow board members,” Maud explains. “She twisted many arms to get them to take a strong stand. The outcome meant that women did secure that choice, something that might not have happened otherwise.”
Maud was particularly impressed by her parents’ example because they used their voices to make a difference even when their positions were not necessarily consistent with those of their friends or work colleagues. To Maud, her parents’ areas of activism showed her how important it is to be your own person. “They stood out from their peers,” Maud said. “They were relentless and courageous. The combination of that kind of leadership, effect, and impact was powerful.”
She also admires and has learned from TNC’s staff and board.
“The approach we have taken as a board is to be humble and listen,” she said. “We have heard so many ways of expressing a passion for the land and this place. The reach of different demographics and types of people across the state helps us from the standpoint of access to elected leadership and getting things done.”
Maud looks forward to seeing the next generation unifying to help the planet, and she sees TNC in Washington and Career Connect aligning on this work. “Young people I interact with through my work with TNC and with Career Connect are incredibly bright, mission-focused, and technologically savvy,” Maud said. “They’re so well equipped to tackle whatever challenge they pursue. Part of the joy of Career Connect has been unleashing that opportunity for every young person with a special effort to include kids who have traditionally not had access—giving opportunity to every single young person who wants to do something for themselves, their family, and their community.”
With a distinguished professional career and a deep commitment to the causes she holds dear, Maud is an inspiring force for change. Through her belief in the potential for a better Washington and a better world, Maud's efforts will help TNC in Washington create a lasting impact for generations to come.
By Anya Blaney, Partner, Blaney Consulting
