Craig Fontenot

Craig has loved plants, dirt, and water his entire life. His appreciation for nature, national parks, waterways and their conservation are rooted in his love for horticulture and water. Personally, Craig has implemented several large-scale projects from water run-off mitigation to native landscape installations and participates in annual efforts to raise and restore oysters in the Chesapeake Bay. His garden features numerous cultivars of his favorite plants – Japanese maples, hydrangea, native grasses and flowering perennials. His favorite thing about our national parks is the diversity of plant species they host.

As the Senior Vice President of Strategic Communications at National Parks Conservation Association, Craig is thrilled to bring this personal passion to work every day at NPCA. Where he serves as the chief marketing and communications executive, overseeing the strategic direction of the Communications and Membership departments. Broadly, Craig is responsible for brand management; media and outreach including earned media, online advocacy and social media; digital and editorial strategy including the website and National Parks magazine; and membership including direct response fundraising, database administration, operations and customer service.

Prior to joining NPCA in 2017, Craig spent over 10 years at AARP helping lead and grow AARP’s membership business. While at AARP Craig started an innovation and product development team within their membership business that identified and built numerous new products, like Staying Sharp. Craig has deep experience across non-profit and for-profit organizations leading marketing organizations – directing marketing strategy, driving revenue growth, leading large-scale marketing and communications campaigns, and pursuing product innovation, namely digital.

When Craig isn’t in the garden, he can be found enjoying the water with his two boys.