Hazel Wong is the Director of Global Conservation Campaigns at The Nature Conservancy, one of the world’s largest and most successful environmental organizations. In this conversation, Hazel talks growing up on the island nation of The Seychelles, how political upheaval forced her family to migrate to the U.S., the future member of Congress who became a political mentor, and experiences and lessons from nearly 20 years helping win environmental ballot measures.

IN THIS EPISODE…

Hazel talks memories of the first few years of her life growing up on the island nation of Seychelles…

Hazel’s father becomes a political prisoner…

Why it became necessary for Hazel’s family to leave her home and move to the U.S…

Hazel experiences culture shock once her family moves to Las Vegas…

The American politician Hazel’s father regularly complained about…

The future member of Congress who became a mentor to Hazel and steered her toward a career in politics…

How Hazel first connected with The Nature Conservancy…

The Hazel Wong best practices on ballot measures which have led to a 88% success rate…

Hazel talks lessons from winning a campaign in Minnesota and losing a measure in Utah…

Hazel’s thoughts on how a lack of shared resources is compromising the effectiveness of the environmental movement…

Hazel talks how climate change has become an “identity issue” and how that makes progress more difficult…

Why “gloom and doom” climate and change messaging makes it harder to communicate with Americans…

What Hazel has learned about effectively managing teams over the past 20 years…

Hazel provides an update on the progress making the environmental movement more diverse…

Hazel’s tips on building a professional network…

Hazel updates her thoughts on the concept of a personal “likability number”…

Hazel’s travel hacks…

& much more!