Rutgers Board of Governors Approves 2025 University Commencement Speakers

For nearly 40 years, Seligmann has championed conservation, working closely with governments, organizations and corporations across multiple continents to promote a shared commitment to equity, environmental health and economic vitality. He is best known for co-founding the environmental nonprofits Conservation International and the global collaborative Nia Tero.

Born to parents who escaped Nazi Germany and raised in Plainfield, New Jersey, Seligmann's love of nature stems from extended family gatherings in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where he was inspired by the mountainous and unspoiled landscape.

He graduated from Rutgers University with a bachelor's degree in science for wildlife ecology in 1972 and from Yale University's School of Forestry and Environmental Science in 1974. He worked for the Nature Conservancy in California from 1976 to 1986, leading their International Program from 1986-87.

In 1987, Seligmann, along with several colleagues, founded Conservation International (CI), where he served as CEO until 2017. CI empowers societies to responsibly and sustainably care for nature, global biodiversity and the well-being of humanity. Since its inception, CI and its partners have protected 1.5 billion acres of land and sea, benefiting millions of people in more than 100 countries. Seligmann was awarded an honorary doctor of science degree in 2003 by Rutgers for his role with the nonprofit and his "distinguished service to science."

As chair of CI in 2017, Seligmann, along with several colleagues, founded Nia Tero, an organization dedicated to supporting indigenous peoples' guardianship of their territories. In its first seven years, Nia Tero partnered with more than 300 indigenous people to support the protection of over 300,000,000 acres of their territorial waters and lands. In January 2025, Seligmann stepped down as CEO, but continues to serve on Nia Tero's Board of Directors.

In January, Seligmann became the chair of Silvania, a natural capital fund committed to establishing nature as an investable asset class. He was appointed distinguished professor of practice at Arizona State University in March. Seligmann also is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on the boards of the Mulago Foundation and the New School's Zolberg Institute on Migration and Mobility.

He and his wife, Lee Rhodes (the founder of Glassybaby), split their time between Montana and Seattle, and have between them six children and a growing number of grandchildren.