Shelly Foston joined Meridian Institute’s Washington, DC, office in July 2005 with 10 years of experience working at the interface of business and natural resource management. As a Mediator and Program Manager at Meridian, Ms. Foston has been integral to our work on climate change and land use and on developing and implementing complex alliances, particularly among foundations. Among other project areas, she also has worked on advancing ocean and coastal policy reform and with the Department of Homeland Security and the private sector on public/private partnerships for critical infrastructure protection.

Prior to her tenure at Meridian, Ms. Foston provided negotiation and alliance relationship management consulting services to large corporate clients. Her work included helping alliance partners jointly launch, manage, audit, and successfully negotiate change in their relationships. Ms. Foston has worked extensively with companies in a variety of industries, including oil and gas, information technology, financial services, pharmaceuticals, and agricultural products.

Ms. Foston holds a Masters of Business Administration and Masters of Science in Natural Resources from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Environmental Studies from Yale University.