FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 13, 2025

Executive Director Whitney Tawney to depart Montana Conservation Voters

(BOZEMAN, Mont.) — Montana Conservation Voters (MCV) and the MCV Education Fund announced today that Executive Director Whitney Tawney plans to step down on June 6, 2025.

“Montana Conservation Voters salutes Whitney Tawney as she leaves us,” said MCV’s Board Chair Sally Ericsson. “She has built an extraordinary team and operation, developed effective political and policy strategies and is an outstanding collaborative leader in the Montana conservation community. We wish her well in her next chapter.”

“I have worked with Whitney since 2018, when she joined MCV, and closely with her since 2021, when she became Executive Director,” said the MCV Education Fund’s Board Chair Jock Conyngham. “Whitney has worked like a fiend, and she leaves the organization dramatically stronger in profile, human resources, financial resilience, strategic partnerships, and impact. The organization and I are infinitely grateful to Whitney, and we look for big things from her in the future.”

“I am beyond grateful for the support of everyone who has made the past seven years not only joyful but also rewarding and successful — from my family to the boards, staff, partners, elected officials, friends, supporters, and everyone in between,” said Tawney. “I take great pride in all that we’ve accomplished together, but also know our work is far from over. There is still so much to do for future generations, both in the long days until the legislative session concludes, and in the many decades ahead.”

The MCV and MCV Education Fund Board of Directors will soon establish a committee to initiate the search for a new Executive Director, ensuring a seamless transition.

Background: Whitney Tawney first joined MCV as the Program Director in September 2018. She became the Deputy Director in June 2019 and stepped into the Executive Director role in January 2021. Under her leadership, MCV’s family of entities has been a driving force behind the elections of conservation champions up and down the ballot and the passage of conservation policies at the state and federal level. 

During Tawney’s tenure, Team MCV:

• Spearheaded the passage of the Great American Outdoors Act with partners, securing permanent full funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The bill, introduced by U.S. Senators Steve Daines (and Jon Tester), followed MCV’s hard-hitting TV ad, yard signs, billboards, digital ads, skywriting, and a custom half-sized vodka bottle to highlight Senator Daines’ “half-full” record on public lands.
• Collaborated with partners and engaged voters to pass ballot initiatives legalizing marijuana and directing the revenue to public lands. Both initiatives gained strong bipartisan support from voters, and MCV continues to defend the funding in the legislature.
• Created MontanaPushback.org as a one-stop hub for Montanans to take quick, effective action during the state’s 90-day legislative session.
• Protected pro-conservation majorities at the municipal level by consistently electing pro-conservation candidates across key Montana cities, including Billings, Bozeman, Livingston, Missoula, and Whitefish.
• Championed Senator Tester’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and the Inflation Reduction Act, securing historic funding for Montana, creating clean energy jobs, and building a resilient future. Celebrated these federal investments through the TesterGettingItDone.org campaign, distributing 200+ yard signs and a dozen billboards.
• Defended Montana’s pro-conservation, pro-constitution Supreme Court by fighting to reelect and elect new champions twice.
• Completed strategic plans for MCV and the MCV Education Fund, outlining bold goals for 2023-2027.
• Launched the Pups for Public Lands photo contest to celebrate National Public Lands Month and inspire responsible exploration of public lands with canine companions.
• Protected Montanans’ constitutional right to a “clean and healthful environment” by organizing to defeat harmful legislative attempts to curtail our rights.
• Held public officials accountable for vetoing bipartisan public lands funding with hundreds of postcards, messages, political cartoons, and billboards from Montanans.
• Launched Montana’s first hyper-local conservation advocacy campaign, showing how federal policies impact communities. This multi-pronged effort included tens of thousands of doors knocked, 24 local mailers, and targeted digital ads that were 3.5 times more effective than typical campaigns.
• Defended democracy and fair representation, challenging the gerrymandered Public Service Commission map in collaboration with a bipartisan group of Montanans and Upper Seven Law.
• Founded MCV’s first federal super political action committee, the Outdoor Values Action Fund, to support the election of pro-conservation candidates at the federal level.
• Together with our partners, broke the anti-conservation supermajority in the state Legislature, securing more seats in a single legislative chamber than any other state in the nation.
• Grew Team MCV from two full-time staff and one part-time staffer to a dynamic team of seven full-time staff and three part-time staffers.

Born and raised in Montana, Tawney spent over a decade in Washington, D.C., working on conservation issues for Ducks Unlimited, the Western Conservation Foundation, and Montana’s U.S. Senator Max Baucus before taking the helm at MCV.

Tawney plans to take the summer to chase her seven year old son around Montana and hatch a plan for what’s next in her journey to protect Montana for future generations.