2019 SWANApalooza

Susan Ruffo
Managing Director of International Initiatives
Ocean Conservancy


Susan Ruffo leads the organization’s global efforts to promote a healthy ocean, on issues such as ocean acidification, marine plastics and climate change. Previously, she 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, Ms. Ruffo 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. Ms. Ruffo has 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. She has degrees in economics and political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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