Interview by Grace Hancock MEM’20
Emily Vuxton MEM’11 is the Director of External Affairs for The Nature Conservancy. She specializes in advancing important conservation priorities for the state of Louisiana. She holds a master’s degree from Duke University. She serves on the Audubon Commission as a mayoral appointee.
Can you share a little about yourself? When did you find your passion for your work, and where has it taken you?
I went to the University of Florida for undergrad and majored in zoology. I thought I might be a scientist, so to explore that I conducted coral reef research in the French Polynesia. But I learned, as part of that experience, that while I liked the research and environmental aspects, I didn’t want to be so entirely focused on science the rest of my life. When I was looking into grad schools, I knew I wanted a multi-disciplinary experience and I found that at Duke. I’d always been interested in policy and politics, and the Nicholas School’s connection to other Duke Schools like Duke Law and Policy allowed me to build an interdisciplinary curriculum.
Between my two years at Duke, I interned with the U.S. Forest Service in Washington, DC working on policy research and writing, and during my first year at Duke I also took the Duke Law Environmental Law and Policy Clinic, both important experiences. After graduation, I worked in Washington, DC for a while, but ultimately wanted to move back to the South, where my family is from. I was able to make that move thanks to the federal policy experience and training I’d gathered since attending the Nic School. Now, I’m an advocate, a lobbyist and policy expert, but I’m also still steeped in trying to understand the science because that’s what backs up my organization’s policy positions. So, I’m doing work I’m passionate about, in a place I’m passionate about.
When did you first realize the work you do could influence the world around you? How did that moment change you?
It really started with my internship at the U.S. Forest Service headquarters. That was just an internship, but the way that that office worked – the Policy Analysis Office – was that we would write documents on subjects that senior leadership requested. So, I had the chance to complete policy research and turn it into a brief that landed in the hands of senior leadership. That kind of high-touch engagement with decision-makers was impactful. I could see the power in being the one that leadership listens to.
It sounds like you’ve had a fair amount of experience across the policy spectrum, from research, to writing, to advising senior leaders and decision-makers. What’s something that you’ve had to work hard to become good at? How do you use it in your career?
I’m naturally an introvert, but lobbying is a lot of talking to strangers and making specific asks or providing education. So I’m always working to build my extroversion practice. It can still sometimes be difficult, because I’m the sort of person who may prefer to be in a corner writing a paper and giving it to elected officials versus talking to them in the hallways of Congress, but I see the power of face-to-face lobbying so am willing to add those skills to my overall policy approach.
In your work, where do you see the greatest disconnect between what’s talked about and what’s being done?
In my work we have conducted a lot of polls to Louisiana residents to ask what they care about. And a lot of them say that they care about nature, recreation, etc. We often see that the vast majority of respondents say they care, like 90%. But, when I compare the funding for these things at the state and federal levels, it’s very low. My job, then, is to identify this disconnect and do something about it. Understanding the disconnect between what the general public says they care about, versus what legislators are appropriating for, is the first step.
Once you identify the disconnect, how do you bridge the gap?
For example, in Louisiana, we have a lot of scenic rivers here, which are rivers that are important for aesthetic, recreation and habitat purposes. And our citizens really care about these rivers. Occasionally there is proposed state legislation that may impact the rivers, and we see the general public appear to make their voices heard. That makes my job easy; I talk to legislators, and they are already hearing from constituents about these issues non-stop and know they need to vote in a way that protects these rivers. This is encouraging because it means we can bridge this disconnect between decision-makers and stakeholders, with a little bit of communication and outreach. The public cares, and when they make their voice heard, it’s very hard for legislators to ignore.
How do you build trust with communities, in this case the community of legislators in Louisiana?
Keep it simple. Tell the truth. Follow up quickly when elected officials have questions or concerns. I ask them what they need, and I try to give them what they ask for. I think it’s a lot of that, just kind of basic etiquette, where this community knows they can count on me for whatever they need. When it comes to legislators who have been in their roles for a while, they have experienced staff who know the issues and know you, so there’s a starting point there. Even if they disagree with you, they understand the topics. New legislators might still be trying to find their priorities, so it’s a different approach to build trust and that rapport. In either case, though, sticking to the basics goes a long way.
Finally, any advice for current students thinking about getting into state policy work?
Take advantage of all that the Nic School has to offer. Duke really expanded my worldview. I was talking to another alumni recently, and we were talking about how the class that Lisa Campbell taught at the Marine Lab on political ecology was one of the best classes we’ve ever taken. That class helped us change our perspectives on traditional narratives that exist around environmental policy. It isn’t as easy as, “I have a good idea, and everyone will immediately get on board.” What I really grasped at Duke was that you have to challenge these narratives by first understanding everyone’s perspective on a certain issue before you really make a difference. Because of that class and others, I have the tools I need to do this.
