Coastal Alabama Partnership and its partner organization, Coastal 150, have named longtime Alabama conservation leader and Mobile native Chris Blankenship as executive director, effective Oct. 19.

Blankenship has served as commissioner of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources since 2017 under Gov. Kay Ivey. During more than 30 years with the department, he advanced from conservation enforcement officer to lead an agency with more than 1,250 employees and an annual budget of $470 million.

As commissioner, Blankenship has overseen the state's fisheries, wildlife, state parks, coastal lands and Deepwater Horizon oil spill restoration programs. His new role will put his longstanding relationships in Montgomery, Washington and throughout coastal Alabama to work on behalf of the region.

"Chris is a leader of exceptional character and integrity, and he has earned the respect and trust of people throughout Alabama," Sted McCollough, chairman of the CAP Board, said in a news release. "He has led with honesty and demonstrated a genuine commitment to serving the people and communities of our state. Chris’ strong reputation, professional relationships and steady leadership make him uniquely qualified to lead CAP into its next chapter."

George Talbot, president of the Coastal 150 board, said Blankenship's return to the region will bring renewed attention to the organizations' efforts to unite business, government and community leaders.

"Chris is coming home to lead CAP and Coastal 150 with a renewed focus on the priorities these organizations were built to serve — uniting our business, government and community leaders around one voice for this region," Talbot said. "His relationships across the state and his track record of building consensus make him the right leader to sharpen that focus and deliver results for Coastal Alabama."

Blankenship said his new position will allow him to return to work in the region where he grew up.

"Coastal Alabama is my home, and I couldn’t be more excited to get back to work for this region," Blankenship said. "I’ve spent my career building relationships across this state — with legislators, agency leaders, mayors, business owners and community leaders — and I will work with all of them for the betterment of Baldwin and Mobile counties. This region has tremendous momentum, and I look forward to helping unify our leadership around a shared voice and shared set of priorities. Working together, we can accomplish so much more than we can alone."

Blankenship holds a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from the University of South Alabama and completed the Regulatory Policy Program at the Harvard Kennedy School.

He currently chairs the Forever Wild Land Trust Board, the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program Executive Committee, the Innovate Alabama Council on Outdoor Recreation and the Gulf of America Alliance. He also serves on numerous other state and regional boards.