The Conservation Alliance Announces Two New Board Members

May 25, 2016

Kirsten Blackburn, Deven Clemens Elected to Serve

Bend, Ore. – The Conservation Alliance board elected Kirsten Blackburn, Marketing Manager at KEEN, Inc., and Deven Clemens, Senior Director of Corporate Finance at Clif Bar & Company to serve on the organization’s board of directors. Both Blackburn and Clemens fill vacancies created when other directors left the board prior to the end of their terms. The Conservation Alliance membership will elect a third new board member in June.

“Kirsten and Deven bring exciting fresh blood to The Conservation Alliance,” said John Sterling, Conservation Alliance Executive Director. “We will benefit from the broad range of experience that they bring to the table.”

Blackburn has played a key role in KEEN’s philanthropy and advocacy efforts for the past five years, and served as the company’s ambassador to The Conservation Alliance. Clemens has held several finance roles at Clif Bar & Company over the past 11 years, and Managing Partner of White Road Investments, a capital firm that invests in healthy, active lifestyle companies in the consumer products and outdoor industries. Deven fills the board seat designated for a finance expert, and will assume the role of Treasurer/Secretary.

“I am honored to join this inspired group of professionals dedicated to protecting the places we play,” said Clemens. “Growing up in California and Hawaii, I was fortunate to be exposed to amazing natural places that deeply impacted my life, family and relationships. Sharing this appreciation with my wife and children is one of my greatest joys. I am inspired by The Conservation Alliance mission and am committed to helping preserve and protect the natural world for generations to come.”

“I’m so very excited to have the opportunity to share and work towards a collective north star: protecting and preserving our remaining wild spaces,” said Blackburn. “I am honored to play a small part in The Conservation Alliance, an organization wholeheartedly rooted in the idea of living in favor of the future.”

The new board terms begin immediately.

About the Conservation Alliance:

The Conservation Alliance is an organization of outdoor businesses whose collective contributions support grassroots environmental organizations and their efforts to protect wild places where outdoor enthusiasts recreate. Alliance funds have played a key role in protecting rivers, trails, wildlands and climbing areas.

Membership in the Alliance is open to companies representing all aspects of the outdoor industry, including manufacturers, retailers, publishers, mills and sales representatives. The result is a diverse group of businesses whose livelihood depends on protecting our natural environment.

Since its inception in 1989, the Alliance has contributed more than $16 million to grassroots conservation groups. Alliance funding has helped save more than 45 million acres of wildlands; protect 2,972 miles of rivers; stop or remove 28 dams; designate five marine reserves; and purchase 11 climbing areas.

For complete information on The Conservation Alliance, please visit: www.conservationalliance.com.