Ryan Smith

Ryan Smith has over twenty years of professional experience in freshwater conservation. Ryan leads The Nature Conservancy of Texas’ water program and science team. The water program implements statewide freshwater conservation strategies in the areas of market-based solutions to water scarcity, groundwater/surface water science, environmental flows, water management and policy, and watershed conservation. Ryan is also TNC’s Texas lead on the Sustainable Rivers Program, a partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers modifying dam operations to improve downstream ecosystems. He has also directed placed-based applied freshwater conservation science work at TNC preserves and watershed projects across Texas. Before his time in Texas, Ryan worked for TNC’s global water and regional science teams where he supported freshwater projects across the U.S. and in Mexico and Central America.