Julia Strong

As Founder and Executive Director of the Symbiosis Coalition, Julia leads the advance market commitment by Google, Meta, Microsoft, Salesforce, Bain, Mckinsey, and REI to contract more than 20 million tons of high-integrity nature-based carbon removals by 2030. The Coalition aims to catalyze the next generation of nature restoration projects by setting clear criteria for quality based on the most rigorous and current science and best practice and helping to unlock the institutional capital needed for scale via bankable long-term offtake agreements. Julia’s career spans nonprofit, government, and private sectors, with the aim of mobilizing finance to accelerate ecosystem conservation and climate impact. Her experience includes The Nature Conservancy, the California Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, Blue Forest, New Forests, and ZOMALAB’s Climate and Nature Finance Collaborative. Julia holds an MBA and MS in Environment and Resources from Stanford University and a BA in Environmental Studies from Yale University. At the 2026 Milken Institute Global Conference, Julia Strong brings a clear-eyed perspective on the challenges and opportunities to mobilize private capital at the intersection of climate and nature and deliver durable, climate impact via carbon markets in a rapidly changing world.