Linda McMillan, MBA

IUCN - WCPA Deputy Vice Chair, Publicity and Communications

Mountains Biome Theme 

Special areas of interest: Yosemite National Park
and the Sierra Nevada of California and promoting Citizen Scientists projects around the world

Business consultant Linda McMillan lives just north of San Francisco, California and has expertise in bridging divides between mountain managers and mountain stakeholders. Her advocacy work and publications focus on helping land managers, agencies, and governments find ways to protect mountains of the world with mountain stakeholders, not from them. An example of this is the promotion of using climbers and mountaineers as "Citizen Scientists" to help protected area managers inventory and assess biodiversity and the impacts of climate change. She also advocates for the promotion of mountain sports for improving the physical and mental health of disabled people. 

Her success in turning mountain stakeholders into effective mountain stewards has been recognized by a number of groups, including The National Parks Conservation Association, which honored her in 2003 as one of five “Americans Making a Difference for Parks".

Linda provides publicity, communications, and webmastering for the Mountain PAs Network. As an avid climber and mountaineer for over 20 years, she has served on the Access and Conservation Commission of the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation and as Vice President of The American Alpine Club. She has co-edited and contributed to a number of publications including:

• Guidelines for Planning and Managing Mountain Protected Areas (2004)
• Managing Mountain Protected Areas: Challenges and Responses for the 21st Century (2004)
• The Amenity Migrants: Seeking and Sustaining Mountains and Their Cultures (2006)

Presentations:

Turning Mountain Migrants into Mountain Stewards: Best Practices, Future Promise in Bridging Stakeholder Divides - Presentation given at the 2008 Understanding and Managing Amenity-led Migration in Mountain Regions Conference - Banff National Park, Canada

The Power of Sports Diplomacy - Presentation given at the 2007 Peace, Parks, and Partnerships Conference - Waterton-Glacier National Park, Canada-USA