Andrea van Wyk
Baltimore Community Project Manager, Maryland/DC
Baltimore, MD
Andrea van Wyk Baltimore Community Project Manager, Maryland/DC chapter © courtesy Andrea van Wyk
Areas of Expertise
Community conservation, conservation partnerships, community education and outreach
Biography
Andrea van Wyk brings to her role as TNC’s Baltimore community project manager a passion for urban conservation and a depth of experience educating, engaging and empowering diverse urban communities. Throughout her career she has been intentional about prioritizing people in the narrative of every event, program and project and about investing the time it takes to discover a community partner’s "in" to the environmental movement.
Her past positions have included volunteer event coordinator with the Sierra Club, Chesapeake Conservation Corps volunteer with the Chesapeake Bay Trust, Gwynns Falls trail outreach coordinator with Baltimore City Recreation and Parks, and conservation technician to conservation project manager with the National Aquarium.
As TNC’s Baltimore community project manager, Andrea strives to engage Black and Brown audiences appropriately and consciously and to advocate for the application of diversity, equity, inclusion and justice principles within her realm of influence. She is focused on enabling equitable access to nature for Communities of Color, where she hopes fostering a connection to nature can serve as a tool to address trauma and nurture emotional, mental and physical well-being.
While originally from South Africa, Andrea considers Baltimore a second home and spends her free time exploring and experiencing its eclectic neighborhoods, people, restaurants and shops. She is a proud “plant mom” and budding gardener.
Andrea has a bachelor's degree in global environmental change & sustainability from Johns Hopkins University and is a senior fellow of Environmental Leadership Program (ELP)'s 2021 Chesapeake Regional Fellowship.