Suit: Supervisor at conservation group’s Minnesota chapter altered photos of co-workers to appear sexual

Five women are suing The Nature Conservancy and a former associate director of the Minneapolis-based regional chapter alleging that he altered photos of them while on work assignments to make them sexual in nature, then posted them on social media.

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court last week alleges years of sexual harassment and discrimination by Douglas Shaw while he worked for the global environmental nonprofit. It seeks an unspecified monetary amount for emotional distress, damage to reputations, punitive damages, lost wages and expenses related to the legal action.

Christopher Anderson, regional marketing director for The Nature Conservancy (TNC), said in a statement that “as soon as we became aware of his actions, we terminated him within 24 hours. ... Mr. Shaw violated our code of conduct.”

A national spokesperson for the group said in a statement that it “vehemently denies liability and the allegations against TNC set forth in the complaint. TNC did not know what Mr. Shaw was doing in his personal time on his personal accounts, but when it did, it took immediate action by terminating his employment within 24 hours of becoming aware of it. TNC will be defending itself on all fronts. ... As demonstrated by Mr. Shaw’s immediate termination, TNC is committed to promptly remedying any improper conduct that may violate TNC’s Code of Conduct.”

A message was left for Shaw on Monday at his Wild Birds Unlimited retail outlet in Woodbury. Court records do not list attorneys for either defendant.

The Nature Conservancy is considered one of the country’s most venerable environmental groups. It focuses on protecting land and waters, promoting sustainable food and water and climate action.

According to the lawsuit, Shaw routinely took photos of the women — identified in the suit only as Jane Does 1 through 5 — at the encouragement of the conservancy while they were on work-related trips or events. After becoming friends on social media, he used photos from their pages.

“At least one manager recognized the danger [Shaw] posed to women in the organization and cautioned multiple women against traveling with [him],” the suit read, but the conservancy “continued to encourage [Shaw] to photograph and go on overnight trips to the field with women subordinates.”

He sometimes used the women’s actual names and included photos of their family members in his public postings, then encouraged commenters with unsavory observations to view other specific photos.

Shortly after Shaw was fired in September 2022, Tri-State Chapter Director Ann Mulholland wrote to conservancy staff that “there were several instances where behavior during his tenure ... was unprofessional, violated TNC’s policies on confidentiality, and was inconsistent with TNC’s guidelines on ethical use of images. … We did find a pattern of behavior that involved him paying excessive attention toward certain female staff that either made the women feel uncomfortable or that it disrupted the workplace and team dynamics.”

The conservancy is alleged in the suit to have “allowed and emboldened” Shaw to commit “these unlawful acts” due to its “history and willful failure to appropriately monitor for, prevent, investigate and correct misconduct.”

Other conservancy leaders repeatedly “perpetrated acts of sexual harassment and discrimination in the years leading up to [Shaw’s] misconduct,” according to the suit.