Tracy Freeman
Director of Government Relations - Ohio Chapter
Dublin, Ohio
Tracy Freeman Director of Government Relations, Ohio Chapter © David Ike
AREA OF EXPERTISE
Environmental Policy, Energy, Great Lakes, Lake Erie, Water Quality, Water Funds, Climate Change
Biography
Tracy Freeman is the Government Relations Director for The Nature Conservancy in Ohio, where she develops policy and advocates for the Conservancy’s top conservation and environmental priorities before Ohio’s General Assembly and Congress. She is key to managing successful, productive relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including professional organizations, NGOs and executive and state agencies like the Governor’s office, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, and Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
She believes that we need to meet people where they are and recognizes that we all have different approaches to the relationship we have with the lands and water on which we all depend. Government relations is rarely a winner-take-all business, and it’s important to acknowledge that, while outcomes are never perfect, people agree on more than they disagree.
Prior to joining the Conservancy, Tracy worked in government relations at the Ohio EPA for 15 years, surviving political administration changes and working under both Republicans and Democrats. She also has six years of experience in the private sector working for Waste Management Inc., where she handled environmental, health and safety compliance for multiple facilities in the central Ohio area.
Her areas of expertise include natural resources and environmental issues, communicating with diverse audiences, and explaining very technical issues in an easy-to-understand way.
She holds a BA in Communications and Public Relations from Michigan State University and an MS in Natural Resources & Environmental Policy from The Ohio State University.