Alexis Bonogofsky is the Director of the World Wildlife Fund’s Sustainable Ranching Initiative (SRI) in the Northern Great Plains (NGP), where she leads WWF’s efforts to partner with ranchers, landowners and community groups to safeguard one of the planet’s largest remaining intact grassland ecosystems. Her work focuses on promoting sustainable ranching practices that balance ecological health with economic resilience.

Raised on a small family farm along the Yellowstone River near Billings, Montana, where she currently lives, Alexis continues her deep connection to the land by raising Katahdin sheep for local markets. Her background in agriculture and conservation is complemented by her experience prior to joining WWF, including expanding the New Agrarian Program into Montana for the Quivira Coalition, an organization dedicated to building soil health, biodiversity, and resilience on working lands across the West. She also spent a decade managing the Tribal Lands Partnership Program for the National Wildlife Federation, where she worked closely with tribal nations across the NGP to restore bison to tribal lands and protect natural and cultural resources from fossil fuel development.

Alexis holds a Master’s degree in International Development from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies and a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies from Gonzaga University.

In addition to her conservation work, Alexis is a passionate freelance writer and photographer. Her photography and writing often focus on the prairies of eastern Montana, which she documents on her blog, East of Billings. She contributed both photography and essays to the books A Million Acres: Montana Writers Reflect on Land and Open Space and Montana: Lay of the Land. Her work has appeared in a variety of local and national publications, showcasing her dedication to the landscapes and communities of the Northern Great Plains.