Thursday, July 11th, 2019 – Plenary Speaker – “Climate Adaptation for Now: More Better Faster Smarter” – Suzanne Case

SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY

Governor Ige appointed Suzanne Case as Chair of the State of Hawai‘i’s Department of Land and Natural Resources in April, 2015. Case oversees eleven divisions with a staff of 1,000 and a budget of $159 million covering Hawaiʻi’s
forestry and wildlife, freshwater, conservation and coastal regulation, aquatic resources, state parks, historic preservation, boating and ocean recreation, enforcement, as well as state lands, conveyancing
and engineering, and climate change natural resource challenges. Case’s focus has been on good government, inclusion, and implementation of Governor Ige’s Sustainable Hawaiʻi Initiative.

Case is a 28-year veteran of The Nature Conservancy, having served as the Hawai‘i Program’s Executive Director from 2001-2015. During this time she oversaw a program of 75+ staff, 16
preserves totaling 53,000 acres, and an annual operating budget of $11 million. From 1987 – 2001 Case served as Western and Asia/Pacific Regional Counsel for The Nature Conservancy. In these capacities she has worked in native forest stewardship, land protection, and coastal and marine conservation, directly and through collaborative partnerships, throughout the main Hawaiian Islands
and Palmyra Atoll, the western United States, and the Asia/Pacific Region.

Case was born in Hilo and grew up in Hilo and Honolulu. She attended Waiakea-Kai Elementary School, Keaukaha Elementary School and Punahou School (1974). She then attended Williams
College and Stanford University, where she graduated with honors (B.A., History, 1979). She received her law degree from Hastings College of the Law, University of California, San Francisco, where she was a member of the Hastings Law Journal (1983). She practiced real estate transactions law at the law firm of Pettit & Martin in San Francisco from 1983 to 1987.