Marcelo Bonta

Marcelo is driven by his vision of creating a future where his daughters may thrive in whatever occupation and lifestyle they choose, the need to break down institutional and systemic barriers, and a love for wildlife and my faith. Prior to Meyer, Marcelo worked to create a diverse, equitable and inclusive environmental movement. He was attracted to Meyer because the foundation shares that commitment to equity and its focus on the environment.

“Effective diversity, equity and inclusion work is more about the ‘how’ you do your work rather than ‘what’ you do. In my experience, empathy, compassion and love have been the only consistently successful approaches to achieving diversity, equity and inclusion.”

When Marcelo was hired as the only person of color at a national conservation organization in 2000, he experienced firsthand the diversity challenge in mainstream environmental groups. Through this journey, he met Charles Jordan, retired director of Portland Parks & Recreation, and co-wrote a groundbreaking article, “Diversifying the American Environmental Movement.” The experiences led Marcelo to create the Center for Diversity & the Environment and the Environmental Professionals of Color, both aimed at leadership development, organizational change and movement building. He remains inspired by the strong, powerful community of leaders working to transform the environmental movement.

Marcelo joined Meyer in September 2015 and completed his fellowship in November 2017.