New Board Member: Dr. Maria K. Hartley

Maria K. Hartley, PhD

International Bird Rescue is pleased to welcome Dr. Maria K. Hartley to its Board of Directors.

Dr. Hartley brings a wealth of experience to the Bird Rescue’s board as the global technical lead in Chevron’s Center for Emergency Preparedness and Response. She is also the assistant lead of Chevron’s Environmental Functional Team responsible for providing technical specialists to address environmental issues during potential oil spills and other emergencies. She has been with Chevron since 2009.

Maria has supported oil spill response in Chevron for 8 years, responding both domestically and internationally. Prior to this role, she developed and implemented Chevron’s industry leading environmental standards and processes worldwide, such as ESHIA (environmental, social, health impact assessment) and the Natural Resources Environmental Performance Standard and led permitting initiatives for Chevron’s major international capital projects. In addition, she advises on biodiversity and endangered species issues and advocacy.

Maria also volunteered her expertise to the Red Cross assisting and supporting disaster assessment. Receiving both her Doctorate and Masters of ecology from Rice University, she is now an Adjunct Assistant Professor, teaching Ecosystem Management at Rice, and elected member on the Board of Affiliates for the Professional Master’s Program and on the Advisory Board of the School of Natural Sciences. Maria is a British citizen, currently residing in Houston, Texas.

Bird Rescue’s ten-member board is integral in supporting the mission “to inspire people to act toward balance with the natural world by rescuing waterbirds in crisis”, providing fiduciary oversight, and overall support to all aspects of the organization’s growth and impact.