Makeda Tsao

Makeda Tsao leads the administrative and strategic operations of NRDC’s Board of Trustees and partners with the chief development officer in the management of the organization’s Development operation. Tsao is a member of the Institutional Management Team and Budget Committee. In her former role as NRDC’s national director of campaign and strategic initiatives, Tsao led the development, implementation, and successful conclusion of NRDC’s $1 billion For Our Future. Now. comprehensive campaign, the most ambitious fundraising endeavor in NRDC’s history.

Prior to NRDC, Tsao served for over four years as the director of campaign operations at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) where she managed the day-to-day operations of the organization’s $2 billion Breakthrough fundraising campaign, and at Dartmouth College where she spent almost 10 years, most recently as the senior associate director for advancement. In this role, she managed the President’s Leadership Council and served as a strategic advisor to the senior VP for advancement and the office of the president. Tsao received her B.A. in political science from Dartmouth College. She is based in the San Francisco office.