Bettina Ring

Bettina currently serves as the Virginia State Director for The Nature Conservancy.  Prior to joining The Nature Conservancy, Bettina Ring served as the Chief Sustainability and Diversity Officer with the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI).  In this role, Ring provided leadership on strategic initiatives related to sustainability, ESG and diversity, equity and inclusion and leveraged SFI’s scale to drive meaningful change in the forest and conservation sector through collaboration and nature-based solutions. 

In 2018. Governor Ralph S. Northam appointed Bettina Ring to serve as the fourth Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry for the Commonwealth of Virginia. In this capacity, she supported the Governor’s mission of building a strong Virginia economy in agriculture and forestry, two of Virginia’s largest private industries, while also protecting the environment and strengthening local communities. Prior to her appointment as Secretary, Ring was appointed by former Governor Terry McAuliffe to serve as the seventh State Forester of the VDOF. Ring worked with the VDOF in various capacities for over 18 years and also served as the Senior Vice President of Family Forests for the American Forest Foundation and Executive Director of the Bay Area Open Space Council and the Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts. 

Ring holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Forestry and Wildlife from Virginia Tech and a Master of Business Administration from James Madison University.  Ring also graduated from the Harvard Kennedy School Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program.

Ring received the Inaugural Distinguished Alumna Award from the Virginia Tech College of Natural Resources and the Environment in 2024 and has been serving on the Dean’s Advisory Council for the College since 2018.