Esther Feldman has pioneered innovative conservation projects and public finance initiatives in California and nationwide, focused on the intersection of people, nature, and water. She brings a strategic approach to tackling complex environmental problems, using her broad expertise in ecosystem science, government, legislation, public finance, community engagement, communications, and implementation of on-the-ground projects. She has a track record of leveraging funding, directing multi-disciplinary teams, and building diverse coalitions. She led ballot measure campaigns to create over $3 billion in new public funding for parks, wilderness, beaches, rivers, and trails across CA and the U.S. She launched the Trust for Public Land’s (TPL) L.A. office, and TPL’s National Conservation Public Finance Program, which has generated over $35 billion in new public funding. At the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, she led the acquisition of the first L.A. River parks. She founded Community Conservation Solutions (CCS), where she led the creation of Baldwin Hills Park in one of the most park-poor, diverse areas in California; directed native habitat restoration along the LA River; and developed a ‘Green Solutions’ web tool to identify where to connect public lands with stormwater infrastructure to capture and store stormwater.

She is dedicated to expanding access to nature for diverse and historically under-served communities and linking workforce development programs to career paths in the public conservation sector.
Esther has a B.S. in Soil and Water Science from the University of California, Davis.