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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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Dreaming of a Protected Ocean In the News

Dreaming of a Protected Ocean

In the spring 2024 issue of the Smithsonian's American Indian magazine, Angelo Villagomez draws on personal memories growing up on Saipan to describe how his culture, heritage, and family continue to inform his approach to conservation advocacy today.

American Indian magazine

Angelo Villagomez

The Biden Administration Can Deliver on Ocean Conservation Promises Made by the Bush and Obama Administrations Article

The Biden Administration Can Deliver on Ocean Conservation Promises Made by the Bush and Obama Administrations

Publishing final management plans for three marine monuments that have languished in bureaucratic limbo for as many as 15 years would deliver effective management for nearly half the protected waters in the United States.

Angelo Villagomez, Beth Pike, Laurie Peterka, 1 More Jen Felt

A Day in the Life of a Conservation Advocate Video

A Day in the Life of a Conservation Advocate

Follow Tina Sablan, former representative of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, as she goes to Washington, D.C., to advocate for a management plan for the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument—and for the inclusion of the Indigenous people of the Mariana Islands in the conservation of their lands and water.

Margaret Cooney, Angelo Villagomez, Toni Pandolfo, 2 More Ala Al Sadi, Hai-Lam Phan

‘Under the Pala Pala’: Special Edition Episode Video

‘Under the Pala Pala’: Special Edition Episode

In this special edition episode, six national marine sanctuary advocates came together for a storytelling event hosted by the Center for American Progress and the National Ocean Protection Coalition at the fifth International Marine Protected Area Congress in Vancouver, Canada, to talk Indigenous-led conservation.

Angelo Villagomez, Margaret Cooney, Madalyn Reagan

CAP Event Highlights Partners in Indigenous-Led Conservation Article

CAP Event Highlights Partners in Indigenous-Led Conservation

Native Americans in Philanthropy and the Center for American Progress are working together to support a 30x30 conservation agenda driven by Indigenous traditional ecological leadership and storied knowledge of U.S. lands and waterways.

Angelo Villagomez, Joel Moffett

Proposed National Marine Sanctuaries Provide a Pathway Toward Indigenous-Led Ocean Conservation Report
Three large turtles rest above the waterline on a white-sand beach.

Proposed National Marine Sanctuaries Provide a Pathway Toward Indigenous-Led Ocean Conservation

The United States can move closer to its dual goals of increasing access to nature for all Americans and protecting 30 percent of lands and waters by 2030 by approving and completing the designation of five new Indigenous-led marine sanctuaries.

Anuka Upadhye, Zainab Mirza, Angelo Villagomez

‘Under the Pala Pala’: Episode 4 Video

‘Under the Pala Pala’: Episode 4

In episode 4 of “Under The Pala Pala,” Angelo Villagomez from the Center for American Progress talks about what it’s like for Natives to work for green nongovernmental organizations in Washington, D.C., with Michaela Pavlat from the National Parks Conservation Association and Javan Santos from The Climate Initiative.

Angelo Villagomez, Margaret Cooney, Toni Pandolfo, 1 More Meghan Miller

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