Tom Dillon

Tom Dillon oversees Pew’s environment portfolio, which includes a broad array of land and ocean initiatives in the United States and around the world. Dillon’s efforts to advance a healthy and resilient ocean include establishing protections for vital coastal and ocean habitats, elevating governance of the high seas, preventing the causes of plastic pollution, advocating for sustainable, science-based fishing practices, and working to end illegal fishing. Through deep engagement with local and Indigenous communities, scientists, and policymakers, Dillon and his team also work to conserve large landscapes in Australia, Chile, Canada, and the U.S.

Before joining Pew, Dillon was senior vice president at World Wildlife Fund (WWF), where he directed land, freshwater, and marine programs in the U.S. and abroad. He led WWF’s initiative to establish, fund, and protect in perpetuity 150 million acres of the Brazilian Amazon. While living in Asia, he was a leader in creating WWF’s Mekong program, which is focused on conservation in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Dillon holds a bachelor’s degree in literature from Lehigh University and a master’s in environment studies from Yale University.