DarkSky International Chief Executive Officer Ruskin Hartley is an influential environmentalist who leads a global movement to protect natural night skies to mitigate light pollution’s measurable harm to human health, wildlife, ecosystems, and climate. He has spent the last four years inspiring and collaborating with leaders and citizens worldwide, advocating for responsible residential and business outdoor lighting practices. In doing so, Hartley has helped DarkSky enlist and empower DarkSky members, supporters, scientists, environmentalists, political leaders, and concerned citizens to take action.

His dedication to environmental advocacy began in 1992 and has focused on fair trade, land and forest conservation, public lands protection, and water quality issues. Before joining DarkSky, he was the Vice President of Resource Development for Fair Trade USA, an internationally recognized organization promoting sustainable development and corporate responsibility in support of farmers, workers, and fishers worldwide. 

Hartley served as President and CEO of Heal the Bay in Santa Monica, CA, and was the Executive Director of the Save the Redwoods League in San Francisco, CA, a conservation organization he served for over 15 years. 

Hartley is an honor’s graduate of the University of Cambridge, where he received a degree in Geography. His dissertation analyzed irrigation systems in the Sultanate of Oman. He also holds a master’s degree from the University of East Anglia, where he examined rural development and poverty impacting Bihar, India.

Throughout his career, Hartley has been honored by the National Public Lands Association and California State Parks.