State of the System Report: Gratitude, Grit & the Road Ahead

As we approach the longest night of the year, we pause to reflect—with gratitude for the wild places that ground us and resolve to protect them through whatever comes next.

Join Desirée Sorenson-Groves, President & CEO of the National Wildlife Refuge Association, for a timely briefing on the state of the National Wildlife Refuge System. With the fallout from the recent government shutdown still unfolding—and the threat of another on the horizon—America’s wildlife refuges are facing some of their toughest challenges yet.

From deepening staff shortages to chronic underfunding and shifting policy winds, the path forward is not without obstacles. But in these darker times, new light begins to shine: innovative partnerships, community-led conservation, and a growing movement of people ready to defend our nation’s wild heritage. This webinar offers a chance to take stock, find hope, and recommit to protecting the lands and wildlife that sustain us all.

Presenter

• Desirée Sorenson-Groves came back to the Refuge Association in October 2024 as the President and CEO. Her career has been focused on protecting and enhancing the National Wildlife Refuge System, first as a grassroots organizer for the National Audubon Society, then as the Vice President of Government Affairs for the Refuge Association. After 14 years at NWRA, Sorenson-Groves became the Director of the Arctic Refuge Defense Campaign where she managed an Indigenous-led, multi-pronged effort to stop any development in the Arctic Refuge. She comes back to NWRA after leading Defenders of Wildlife’s public and private lands programs as their Vice President of Land & Habitat Conservation. She has a B.A. in Geography from George Washington University and resides in Fort Valley, VA with her husband and two Chesapeake Bay Retrievers.

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