Rick Parnell

Biography

Rick Parnell is Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation for Climate Restoration (F4CR.org). In that role, he is responsible for all aspects of the mission, strategy, operations, and staffing of F4CR. The Foundation for Climate Restoration is dedicated to identifying, evaluating, developing and scaling proven, financially viable methods to restore a healthy, stable climate.

Rick’s work with F4CR is a natural extension of his 16 years with the United Nations Foundation, most recently as Chief Operating Officer. At the UN Foundation, he designed the Foundation’s partnership model and put together a team of over 300 committed individuals throughout the U.S. and around the world that mobilized more than $2.2 billion dedicated to helping the UN solve a range of global challenges, including the deterioration of our climate.

Prior to joining the UN, Rick was the operations officer for the first ever $1 billion fundraising campaign for the American Red Cross, a storied organization dedicated to taking concrete action to solve life-threatening issues.

Rick believes climate change is the most important challenge facing the world today. But he also believes that there are ways to meet this challenge, that there is hope.

Rick’s more than 25 years of experience leading nonprofits dedicated to encouraging change have given him a deep understanding that, to be successful, the F4CR must find and nurture the partners it needs – whether they be governments, NGOs, companies or individuals – to deliver on its mission. At the same time, it must also focus inward, to recruit and retain the highest caliber professionals.

Rick currently serves on the Board of Directors of the U.S. Fund for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. He previously served on the Board of Directors of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council; was the Founding Chair of the Board of Directors of the Digital Impact Alliance; and was the Founder and Chair of the Independent Sector C-Suite Initiative. He is also a member of the Cosmos Club of Washington, DC, and the Economic Club of Washington, DC. Rick and his husband Christopher reside in Washington DC.