Broader changes are possible' in looking beyond economics
DANIEL HAYDEN '93 ALWAYS KNEW HE'D END UP WORKING FOR A CONSERvation cause. As a high school student in Cambridge, Mass., Hayden interned for a state representative from Cape Cod who was writing legislation to support the cleanup of Boston Harbor, which was affecting not only the fishing on the Cape but also the local drinking water — "not to mention making the harbor completely unsuitable for recreation, fishing, or even sitting next to," Hayden says. Today, as director of global programs at the U.S.-based conservation organization Rare, he monitors 50 international grassroots social-marketing campaigns in more than 40 countries. Rare first hit the global scene in 1974 with its enormously successful Save the Whales campaign.
While at Hamilton, Hayden took a course with Robin Kinnel, the Silas D. Childs Professor of Chemistry, on chemistry and the environment at the same time that he took a public speaking course with Warren E. Wright, the Upson Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory. Hayden's final presentation for public speaking was on global warming and the need to study it further and then act judiciously. He has followed the issue ever since, realizing that the costs and risks of inaction far exceeded the costs and risks of action.
Daniel Hayden '93 (sitting), director of global programs at Rare, works with CEO Brett Jenks during a retreat in Honduras.
After working for Arthur Andersen and MarketBridge, Hayden went to Northwestern's Kellogg School, where he earned an MBA in 2001. He's been with Rare since early 2007. "In our approach, Rare makes sure that people see the value of their environment from not just an economic perspective, but also cultural and esthetic value," Hayden says. "When nature is seen as something beyond just a source of income, broader changes are possible." Although Rare is a relatively small nonprofit with about 50 employees, it partners with some of the most powerful environmental organizations in the world, such as the World Wildlife Fund and The Nature Conservancy.
"Rare was one of the first organizations to make an explicit connection between communities and the environment and then to view communities as part of the solution," Hayden says. "Now most conservation organizations recognize that you can't legislate social change unless the community supports it."
