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Angelo
Villagomez

Senior Fellow

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Conservation Policy
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Tackling Climate Change and Environmental Injustice; Asia-Pacific; Climate Change; Conservation; Environmental and Climate Justice; Ocean

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Angelo Villagomez

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Angelo Villagomez is a senior fellow at American Progress, where he focuses on Indigenous-led conservation. Born in a village on an island in the western Pacific Ocean next to the Mariana Trench and trained in Western scientific methods, Villagomez is a conservation advocate who uses Indigenous knowledge and values and the scientific method to address modern threats including habitat loss, fishing, and climate colonialism.

Villagomez worked for 14 years at The Pew Charitable Trusts, where he was an advocate for the designation and expansion of the national marine monuments in the Pacific islands and a policy expert on global shark conservation. During his tenure at Pew, he led efforts to secure an agreement at the International Union for Conservation of Nature committing governments to protect at least 30 percent of the ocean in fully to highly protected marine areas and contributed to The MPA Guide and the IUCN MPA Standards. He previously worked for the League of Conservation Voters, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Mariana Islands Nature Alliance.

Villagomez holds bachelor’s degrees in biology from the University of Richmond and environmental policy from Rollins College. He is a mediocre ukulele player and enjoys scuba diving in warm tropical waters full of fish.

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Why Alaska and U.S. Territories Get Damage, Not Dollars, From Deep-Sea Mining Article
Person sitting on beach and others in the ocean, with city buildings in the background

Why Alaska and U.S. Territories Get Damage, Not Dollars, From Deep-Sea Mining

The Trump administration is advancing deep-sea mining in U.S. waters near the Pacific territories and Alaska, a process Indigenous leaders have identified as "resource colonialism" due to its prioritization of corporate interests, the permanent ecological damage it causes, and the fact that its profits flow outward to shareholders while providing no economic benefits to communities struggling with high costs, precarious jobs, and faltering public services.

Angelo Villagomez, Mark Haggerty

Climate Change Is Here—and America’s Most Marginalized Communities Are on the Front Lines Article
The image of Typhoon Sinlaku captured by satellite.

Climate Change Is Here—and America’s Most Marginalized Communities Are on the Front Lines

After Typhoon Sinlaku devastated the Northern Mariana Islands Tuesday, it is clear that climate change is already here—and hitting marginalized U.S. communities first. What comes next must be a commitment to resilience, preparedness, and equitable recovery.

Angelo Villagomez, Devon Lespier

Trump’s ‘God Squad’ Is Killing Whales Under the Guise of National Security Article
The sun sets behind an offshore drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico.

Trump’s ‘God Squad’ Is Killing Whales Under the Guise of National Security

Under the pretense of national security, and amid a self-inflicted energy crisis of President Trump’s own making, the administration’s “God Squad” has exempted all Gulf of Mexico oil and gas activities from the Endangered Species Act, risking the extinction of critically endangered species such as the Rice’s whale.

Angelo Villagomez, Margaret Cooney

Applying Indigenous Wisdom to Deep-Sea Mining In the News

Applying Indigenous Wisdom to Deep-Sea Mining

In an op-ed published by DC Journal, Angelo Villagomez discusses the Trump administration’s reckless push to allow deep-sea mining in the U.S. Pacific territories.

DC Journal

Angelo Villagomez

Ocean Progress Symposium 2025: Advancing Conservation Close to Shore Past Event

Ocean Progress Symposium 2025: Advancing Conservation Close to Shore

Please join the Center for American Progress for an event to explore how to navigate ocean conservation in the United States for the next four years.

Online via Zoom

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