Chantelle "Ella" Mendonsa

Chantelle "Ella" Mendonsa works with health practitioners, local leaders, and residents in marginalized communities and communities of color at the intersection of race, health equity, and environment. She focuses on the lived experience of health in communities, supporting affirmative health solutions within the built environment and eliminating racial, economic, and cultural barriers to wellness. Previously, she led the SPARCC Health Equity team, connecting health, climate, and racial equity and working directly with community-based organizations in Atlanta, Denver, Memphis, Los Angeles, Memphis, and the San Francisco Bay Area. She currently sits on the American Public Health Association’s (APHA) Center for Climate, Health, and Equity advisory board and previously served as a political appointee at the White House Council on Environmental Quality in the Obama administration. She is deeply passionate about understanding how climate impacts public health, specifically for low-income communities and communities of color. Mendonsa holds a master's in public health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, as well as an undergraduate degree in political science and public affairs from Syracuse University. She is based in NRDC's Washington, D.C., office.