Kate Hotten, Co-Executive Director

Pronouns: she, her, hers

It is a privilege to join the Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection as its newest Co-Executive Director and an honor to follow Carolyn Campbell in this role. Alongside Kathleen, I now facilitate and lead our policy and planning work as well as the Coalition’s partnerships in support of a biodiverse Sonoran Desert. While I’m relatively new to Tucson, I grew up hiking and camping in the desert—especially the Mojave and Great Basin. The desert and its open spaces have long informed my own values, and I’m delighted to have already met many passionate supporters here in Tucson.

Before the Coalition, I worked on public realm and commercial schemes with a leading landscape architecture practice in Ireland. I also served on the board of the Abbeyleix Bog Project, a model for community-led peatland conservation and restoration that has been praised by UNEP, the team behind the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, as well as on the board of a national advocacy group for nature, biodiversity and ecosystem services (Natural Capital Ireland). This was after taking a sabbatical to focus on a Master of Landscape Architecture or MLA from University College Dublin.

In addition to spatial planning and landscape conservation, I have nearly two decades of experience in financial services, policy and risk management. After earning a B.A. in Art and an M.S. in Economics from the University of California, Santa Cruz, I began my career with Wells Fargo before building and leading a global anti-financial crime team for the tech company Stripe. I continue to practice in this industry as a board member for NoFrixion, an Irish embedded finance startup. I’m also delighted to support the local entrepreneur community as a mentor with Startup Tucson.

Your thoughts on our work, or on your own journey in advocating for the Sonoran Desert or other landscapes, are always welcome—please don’t hesitate to get in touch.