Careers at NRDC

An aerial view of NRDC staffers standing together in the shape of a shield on green grass
Credit:

Rebecca Greenfield for NRDC

“There is an edginess to NRDC that is so rare in mature organizations. This place is full of energy and fight. You can feel it, and it’s contagious.” 

Manish Bapna, president & CEO, NRDC

NRDC attracts exceptionally talented people, both those at the top of their field and those who are starting out and showing tremendous promise. People here are knowledgeable, dedicated, tenacious, and principled. Most of all, they are deeply committed to protecting the environment, from the senior attorney who wins a groundbreaking lawsuit protecting whales to the program assistant who starts an eco-committee to enhance recycling practices in the office.

Bringing together extraordinary people to realize a common mission creates a vibrant, dynamic workplace. Our offices bustle with team meetings, strategy sessions, and thoughtful deliberation. There is an entrepreneurial spirit running through the halls. People have autonomy to pursue victories, but they also have the support of a national organization behind them. And they have the backing of their colleagues, who proudly cheer them on.

Perhaps the best testament to NRDC's workplace culture is the tenure of our staff. Almost 50 people have been with the organization for more than 15 years—12 of them have been here almost from the start, in 1970. When people join our dedicated, supportive team, they want to stay.

Testimonials: Why We Love Working at NRDC

In February 2022, NRDC’s offices reopened after closing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are currently operating in a hybrid model—we offer NRDCers flexibility; we ask them to come into the office and spend meaningful time there in collaboration with their colleagues. We call this purposeful presence.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: As a science-based organization, NRDC aims to do our part to help contain the COVID-19 public health crisis. For the sake of health, safety, and equity, we ask that people be vaccinated unless they have an approved medical or religious accommodation or other exemption in accordance with state and local law. We consider a person to be vaccinated two weeks after receiving one full course of a CDC-approved vaccine. In accordance with state or local law, new hires will be asked to attest to vaccination; those wishing to do so may request medical or religious accommodations or other exemptions via NRDC Employee Relations & Compliance. NRDC treats all vaccine-related data confidentially, in keeping with local, state, and federal laws.

About Our Offices

New York, New York (HQ)

NRDC's headquarters, located in Manhattan's Flatiron neighborhood, is home to the founding director's office, as well as a large portion of our administration, including Finance, Human Resources, and IT. Communications and Development are also concentrated here. 

Chicago, Illinois

Opened in 2006, Chicago is home to NRDC's Midwest office. Working in the Great Lakes and Upper Mississippi River states, this team is heavily involved in clean energy and clean water issues at the local, state, and regional level, where key policies and concrete investments are being made daily.

San Francisco, California

Scientists, litigators, and policy experts here focus on public lands, water, oceans, global warming, energy, and public health issues. This office also houses the western branch of Development and Administration.

Santa Monica, California

Housed in our showcase LEED Platinum building in Santa Monica, this office’s team of legal and policy experts focus on water, air, coastal issues, environmental justice, urban sustainability, wildlife, and open space conservation.

Washington, D.C.

Home to NRDC's current president & CEO, the D.C. office has a large number of litigators and policy experts working to secure environmental regulations at federal and international levels. Our legislative work and Center for Policy Advocacy are based here. 

Beijing, China

Our international team of legal and policy experts work with the government, the legal community, and Chinese NGOs to help promote clean energy, energy efficiency, and to build a strong environmental legal system in China. We also work with Chinese partners on issues of environment and health and market transformation.

New Delhi, India

Recognizing the importance of our high-impact, widely admired India Program, which was created in 2008, NRDC formed NRDC India Pvt. Ltd. in January 2023 and has contracted with it to provide India-based services in order to more effectively work in the country.

Two people at the Rise for Climate March, one with a sign that says "Protect People Not Polluters," the other one hold a baby A smiling couple sitting on a picnic blanket on grass at Domino Park, Brooklyn A group of NRDC staffers at the organization's Santa Monica, California, office

Clockwise from top left: NRDC's Katie Umekubo and her family at the Rise for Climate march; NRDC's Tyler Weingart (left) and his partner; NRDC president & CEO Manish Bapna (far left) with staffers at the Santa Monica office

Credit: 1)

Elijah Nouvelage for NRDC

; 2)

Jacob Pritchard for NRDC

; 3)

Andrew Plotch/NRDC Action Fund

Benefits: Competitive, Caring & Current

Insurance

Medical insurance
Dental insurance
Vision insurance
Disability insurance
Life and accidental death & dismemberment 

Savings Incentives

Health savings account
Flexible spending account
403(b) retirement savings plan
Commuter plans

Advisory Services

Employee assistance program
Health advocate
Fidelity: educational & student debt planning
Leave Logic: leave of absence planning

Perks

Student debt repayment assistance
Wellness initiatives
Discounts
Reimbursements

Paid Time Off

Vacation, sick, personal
Leave of absence

Family Support

Backup care
Milk Stork breast milk shipping service

NRDC in Action

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

At NRDC, we recognize that the world we fight for must be represented in the makeup of our staff.

We recognize that one of the many ways to attain this diversity is by putting major efforts to recruit staff and interns from all educational backgrounds and walks of life. 

There are many benefits to building a more diverse workplace: a better work environment, improved company culture, more creative and fresh ideas. We recognize that increasing diversity within our organization is not only about hiring a diverse pool of full-time employees. Hiring interns from underrepresented backgrounds is an effective way to shift toward a more diverse pipeline.

NRDC is working to ensure that our internal culture reflects and embodies principles and practices of equity and inclusion.

  • In 2020, we hired a chief diversity, equity & inclusion officer and established NRDC’s Office of DEI.  
  • The Office of DEI is developing an organization-wide strategic plan for DEI and an institution-wide DEI learning strategy to support our staff in integrating DEI practices into all aspects of our culture and work. We have also made DEI competence and compliance an express part of our performance management process.
  • We are evaluating and improving our hiring, retention, and promotion processes to ensure that our practices are equitable and inclusive and lead to a more vibrant and diverse NRDC. We are also building partnerships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Hispanic Serving Institutions, including a litigation fellowship with Howard University.
  • The Office of DEI is working with staff to form Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)—such as the Black Environmentalists Seeking Transformation (BEST) and the Women’s Caucus—that create support and community for our staff with similar backgrounds, experiences, and/or interests that will help us fulfill our commitment to foster an inclusive work environment.
  • In 2021, we established our Environment, Equity & Justice Center to help integrate equity into NRDC’s advocacy and partnerships and enhance NRDC’s ability to advance community-driven solutions in partnership with frontline communities.  
  • In 2022, we committed to Green 2.0's pay equity pledge to close the wage gap in the environmental movement.
A graphic that says "Summer Internships," "Cool Work," and "Hot Cause"

Our interns play an active role on the front lines of the environmental movement. Over the course of an internship, NRDC interns work with lawyers, scientists, or policy analysts in different program areas and amass experience that they could not have obtained anywhere else. Interns also have access to various events to enhance their NRDC experience. NRDC offers legal internships as well as those within our program areas and in Administration, Communications, and Development.

NRDC’s Summer Legal Intern Program Strives to Live Up to Our Values

NRDC’s summer legal internship program values justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and we recognize that our planet’s most pressing environmental crises can only be solved by people from a diversity of identities. A diverse pool of interns is crucial, because we depend on our interns to ask tough questions and think creatively, to bring new ideas and new energy to our work. Our summer 2020 interns did all that and more—they challenged us to show how we live up to our values and to make our efforts public: to tell law students, career centers, and law professors what we’re doing to make our summer legal internship program more just, diverse, equitable, and inclusive.

So we’re doing just that. Read more about how we’re implementing justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in our summer legal internship program.