#23 Kristine Tompkins

Kristine Tompkins is the president and co-founder of Tompkins Conservation, and former CEO of Patagonia Clothing Company. For nearly thirty years, she has committed her life to protecting and restoring Chile and Argentina’s wild beauty and biodiversity by creating national parks, restoring wildlife, inspiring activism, and fostering economic vitality. Having protected nearly 15 million acres of parklands in South America through Tompkins Conservation and its partners, Kristine and Douglas Tompkins, her late husband who died in 2015, are considered some of the most successful environmental philanthropists in history.

We covered Kristine’s early career and growth with Patagonia, her beginnings in conservation, national park projects, the process of re-wilding, and much more. To learn more, check out Tompkins Conservation and watch Kristine’s 2020 TED Talk, "Let's Make the World Wild Again.”