Sally Hardin

Sally Hardin is the Vice President of Policy & Federal Affairs for the U.S. Nature Initiative, where she serves as USNI’s in-house conservation policy expert and leads USNI’s federal policy strategy and engagement with federal partners and national organizations. Sally comes to USNI after wearing a number of different hats in the Executive branch for the previous administration, including directing lands policy at the White House Council on Environmental Quality and guiding the implementation of more than $126 billion in Inflation Reduction Act programs across agriculture, forests, water, and lands bureaus for the White House Office of Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation.  

Prior to the White House, Sally designed a policy platform and advocacy priorities for outdoor business members of The Conservation Alliance, and before that, she shaped and executed effective communications and campaigns across conservation, climate, and clean energy issues for a major think tank. Sally's work centers on translating complex environmental policy into action—navigating the intersection of core issues like rapid clean energy deployment, conservation, and climate resilience across federal agencies and diverse coalitions. Her approach spans strategic communications, coalition-building with unlikely allies, high-stakes federal policy implementation, and on-the-ground campaign management in politically challenging landscapes. 

She holds a Master of Environmental Law and Policy from Vermont Law School, and a Bachelor of Arts from The Colorado College. While Sally has settled for running the trails of Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C. with her husband and beagle (the beagle does not run), she dreams of Alaska (in any season!) where she has spent multiple summers living in Anchorage and enjoying back-door access to world-class public lands, waters, and fish.