Sara Parker Pauley

Nearly every position Sara Parker Pauley has held in her 30+ year career has been directly related to conservation and natural resource protection.  She was the first woman to hold the position of Director of the Missouri Department of Conservation (2016 – 2024) and the first person to have ever served as MDC Director and also as Director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (2010 – 2016).  She served in earlier roles at both departments but additionally as Chief of Staff to the Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives, as Director of Conservation Programs for the American National Fish & Wildlife Museum, and as a Regional Field Supervisor for the National Wild Turkey Federation’s Women in the Outdoors program.  During her time as MDC Director, she also served as the first woman President of the National Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies in its 120+ year history.

During her tenure as Director of MDNR, Sara was instrumental in the acquisition of key lands for Missouri State Parks, including adding six new parks plus securing additional acreages to existing state parks. New parks include Echo Bluff, Ozark Mountain, Jay Nixon, Don Robinson, Eleven Point and Rock Island Trail, additions were made to Johnson Shut Ins, Taum Sauk Mountain, Onondaga Cave, and Roaring River State Parks.

During her tenure as MDC Director, the agency acquired an additional 16,760 acres through purchase and donation.  Key tracts include the Wah Kon’ Tah, Linscomb, Don C. Bedell, and Berrier tracts. Wah Kon’ Tah tract is a 320-acre grassland protecting a portion of the upper watershed of Little Clear Creek. The Don C. Bedell unit of Peck Ranch added 5,805 acres of newly conserved forest land with some of the most biologically important woodland habitat in the Midwest. This area is also important to the preservation of the federally endangered Ozark Hellbender and is the center of the elk restoration zone. The Dr. Harry and Lina Berrier Memorial Tract to Sons Creek Conservation Area added 160 acres adjacent to Penn-Sylvania Prairie, which is recognized with a world record for number of plant species in a 20×20 inch square.

Sara has long advocated and taken action to improve opportunities for underserved populations to experience the benefits of outdoor recreational opportunities, opening or overseeing urban outreach offices at both MDC and MDNR.

Sara led efforts to create the Boone County Nature School in Boone County, Missouri, a partnership between Columbia Public Schools, the MDC, and the surrounding community.  In this national model, 5th graders from all of Boone County schools visit BCNS for two weeks and engage in a variety of nature-based activities.

Sara has long understood the importance of partnerships and was instrumental in the creation of two research centers at the University of Missouri: The Center for Regenerative Agriculture and the Johnny Morris Institute of Fisheries, Wetlands & Aquatic Systems, both of national significance.

A strong role model not only for young women, but for all who aspire to lead a life of meaning and accomplishment starting as she earned her Bachelor of Arts in journalism and Juris Doctorate from the University of Missouri, in addition to completing graduate work at Sydney University in Australia.  Sara resides in Boone County, Missouri, with her husband Scott and parents Marilyn and John Parker.