Russell Howell Reed is a conservationist, climate activist, and writer committed to fostering a more equitable environmental movement. 

He currently works at Virunga National Park in conflict-ridden Eastern Congo, where he manages the conservation department of Africa’s oldest and most biodiverse national park. He is a founding member and the former Head of Sustainability & Impact of seaweed-based biomaterials startup Sway, winner of the TOM FORD Plastic Innovation Prize, and serves on the Board of Advisors for Louisiana coastal restoration and glass recycling organization Glass Half Full. 

His work, research, and teaching experience spans six continents, including spearheading the successful effort to establish an Indigenous-led seaweed farming industry in Colombia. Russell is an outspoken advocate for climate justice and will soon lead all-youth delegations to COP16 and COP29 for Nile Rodgers' We Are Family Foundation. His writing can be found in outlets like Atmos, Grist, and Office, and his activism was recently featured on CNN's Connect the World.

Russell received an A.B. in Geography & Development magna cum laude from Harvard College in 2020 — the university’s first geography degree since its department was disbanded in 1948 due partly to institutional homophobia. He was a John Harvard Scholar, president of the Harvard Political Review, and author of an award-winning thesis on environmental justice in mountain gorilla conservation. He holds an M.Phil. in Anthropocene Studies from the University of Cambridge, where he was the 2020 Paul Williams Scholar.