Rick Bates is the CEO and Executive Vice-President of the Canadian Wildlife Federation, Canada’s largest conservation charity.  CWF has been a leader in experiential education and connecting people to nature for over 30 years. Through its educator professional development and youth involvement programs, CWF trained over a third of Canada’s classroom teachers in conservation education and engaged over one million youth in conservation projects. Mr. Bates was elected as IUCN Regional Councillor for North America and the Caribbean at the World Conservation Congress in September where he participated in a High Level Dialogue “Conservation 2.0: Empowering Next Generations.” CWF is also a core partner in the IUCN #NatureforAll movement to inspire a connection with nature.