Elly Pepper

Elly Pepper focuses on global biodiversity conservation, working to tackle the main drivers of the biodiversity crisis: ecosystem destruction and the direct exploitation of species (including wildlife trade). Specifically, Pepper does this by pushing countries to limit reliance on forest biomass in the power sector and developing state, federal, and global policies aimed at reducing wildlife trade and enhancing protections for imperiled species.

Before joining NRDC, Pepper was a legal fellow for the Environmental Defense Fund. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Bowdoin College and a law degree from the University of Richmond. She is also a 2014 graduate of the Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders program. Pepper is based in NRDC’s Washington, D.C. office.