Tom Smith - Bio
Tom Smith, Deputy Director of Operations, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.
Tom oversees the operation of the Virginia Natural Heritage Program,Virginia State Parks, Land Conservation, and Virginia's Outdoor Recreation Programs. Tom served as the Natural Heritage Division Director at DCR 1991-2016 and remains dedicated to conserving Virginias biodiversity and establishing the State NaturalArea Preserve System.
Prior to coming to Virginia, Tom served as the Director and Plant Ecologist for The Nature Conservancy's office of the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program 1982-1990, as a Field Ecologist with the Tennessee Natural Heritage Program 1980-1982 and Staff Botanist for the TN Department of Transportation.
He currently serves as an advisor to Southern Conservation Partners and NatureServe where he formerly served as Board Chair, and serves on the Flora of Virginia Board of Directors. Tom has been recognized by NatureServe with the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016 and received the 2019 Environmental Leadership Award from the Virginia Military Institute's Center for Leadership and Ethics during the Environment Virginia Symposium. Tom has a B.S. in Environmental Biology from Juniata College 1978, and an M.S. in Physiological Plant Ecology from Vanderbilt University 1981.
