Former Senior Advisor, Ocean and Climate
Susan Ruffo has more than 15 years of experience developing and implementing programs and policies focused on advancing conservation and combatting climate change. Susan has a wide range of experience across government and civil society. Most recently, she served as Executive Director of The Circulate Initiative, a non-profit organization focusing on ending ocean plastic through incubating, measuring and amplifying inclusive solutions for waste management, recycling, and overall circular economy. Previously, she was Managing Director of International Initiatives at Ocean Conservancy, where she led the organization’s global efforts to promote a healthy ocean, including issues such as ocean acidification, marine plastics, and climate change. Susan also led the Vibrant Oceans portfolio for Bloomberg Philanthropies, supporting simultaneous reform of local and industrial-scale fisheries and development of financial strategies to ease transition to sustainable fishing. From 2011 to 2015, Susan served as Associate Director for Climate Preparedness at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. There she led development and implementation of the climate preparedness pillar of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan and worked with state, local, and tribal leaders to better prepare the United States for the impacts of climate change. Susan has also worked at The Nature Conservancy and as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State, serving in China, Argentina and Nigeria and in Washington D.C. Susan has degrees in Economics and Political Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
