Karin Krchnak

Karin Krchnak is Director of International Water Policy at The Nature Conservancy. She leads the international strategy of the Sustainable Waters Program, including working with TNC country program offices to identify opportunities for demonstration projects in targeted sectors. Karin’s current work involves identifying opportunities to advance water policies supportive of sustainable water management at the international and national levels and advancing ecologically sustainable water management (ESWM) in various global water arenas. She leads the Programs efforts in the hydropower sector, working with international organizations to integrate the principles of ESWM into hydropower projects. Karin currently serves on the Steering Committees of the Global Water Partnership and the Gender and Water Alliance and she is Co-Chair of the U.N. Commission on Sustainable Development’s Freshwater Caucus. Before joining the Conservancy, Karin worked as an environmental lawyer to improve policies and procedures related to environmental management and resource conservation worldwide. Her work included managing two global secretariats aimed at improving transparency and accountability in environmental decision making, helping non-governmental organizations such as the World Resources Institute and the National Wildlife Federation address environmental issues on a global scale, directing the Environmental Law Program for the American Bar Association Central and Eastern European Law Initiative, managing environmental planning projects in the former Soviet Union, and serving as adjunct faculty for universities in the U.S. and abroad. Karin holds a J.D. from the University of Maryland (Baltimore) and an undergraduate degree in Political Science from Duke University (Durham, North Carolina).