Paul Hendricks – The Conservation Alliance and the Future of Public Lands

Paul Hendricks is the Executive Director of The Conservation Alliance, a coalition of more than 270 businesses working together to protect wild places across North America. Founded nearly four decades ago by Patagonia, REI, The North Face, and Kelty, The Conservation Alliance has grown into one of the most important forces in conservation—pooling dollars, influence, and a collective business voice to support grassroots campaigns that keep public lands and waters healthy for generations to come. At a time when those places are under constant pressure, The Conservation Alliance is showing that businesses don’t have to sit on the sidelines—they can be a powerful part of the solution.

Paul’s own path to this role winds through some of the most interesting corners of the conservation and environmental worlds. After earning a few advanced degrees, he started at Global Greengrants Fund, working with grassroots activists around the globe. He then joined Patagonia’s legendary environmental team, where he learned firsthand how a company can weave values into every decision. From there he helped build sustainability programs at Rivian, tackling the climate footprint of a car company from the inside. And woven through all of that is a through-line of humility, service, and adventure.

In this conversation, Paul and I talk about the roots of his love for the outdoors, the mentors and lessons that shaped his career, and what it’s like to step into the hot seat as a first-time executive director. We dig into The Conservation Alliance’s mission and why business advocacy matters, the current threats facing public lands, and how Paul stays grounded in turbulent times. We also talk about family, leadership, failure, and why hope is not just possible but necessary. It’s a candid, thoughtful conversation with someone who’s not only shaping the future of conservation, but doing it with humility, persistence, and just enough humor to keep it human.

I’ve had the privilege of knowing Paul for almost 15 years–we met when he first moved to Colorado, became running and climbing partners, and have logged more hours together in the mountains and had more meaningful conversations than I can count. Watching him grow into this role has been inspiring, both for the positions he’s held and for the way he’s carried himself along the way.

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• Paul Hendricks
• The Conservation Alliance
• Full episode notes and links: https://mountainandprairie.com/paul-hendricks/

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TOPICS DISCUSSED:

• 2:37 – Intro, Ed’s one running partner
• 4:03 – How the outdoors has shaped Paul’s career
• 6:48 – Plan post-college
• 12:41 – Sunk-cost fallacy
• 14:22 – Global Greengrants Fund
• 17:05 – Learning from Rick Ridgeway
• 20:23 – Lessons from Patagonia
• 24:25 – Ready for a new challenge
• 30:00 – Laid off at Rivian
• 36:02 – Being in charge
• 38:01 – The Conservation Alliance history
• 43:07 – TCA within public lands threats
• 48:58 – What’s missing from the public lands story?
• 51:49 – Paul’s role as a leader
• 56:14 – Role models
• 59:04 – Getting outdoors now
• 1:01:10 – Book recs
• 1:03:09 – 1% for the Planet collab
• 1:05:14 – Wrapping up

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