Chanté Coleman

Chanté Coleman serves as the Director of Equity and Justice, leading the effort to embed equity across the National Wildlife Federation by advising on strategies, structure, and processes. She drives culture change by reframing how the organization thinks about power, while also encouraging others to develop their own expertise on equity and justice in their work.

Coleman is an expert in large-scale ecosystem restoration and coalition building and was previously the Director of the Choose Clean Water Coalition, a 230-member advocacy organization focused on protecting the Chesapeake Bay watershed. At the Coalition, she led regional scale strategies to evolve an intentional focus on equity and justice for the Coalition and its member organizations. Chanté is a member of the Green Leadership Trust, was named a “rising star” by Green 2.0, and is a 2017 Environmental Leadership Program Fellow; she frequently appears as a trainer and facilitator at conferences across the country.

Coleman is a graduate of Princeton University and California Western School of Law. She currently resides in Annapolis, Maryland, and is a firm believer in self-care, regularly practicing yoga and meditation.

National Wildlife Federation Embraces New Vision Statement Centering Wildlife, People, and Ecosystems

We are excited to share that after months of collaboration between National Wildlife Federation staff, Board, and affiliates, the National Wildlife Federation officially has a new vision statement:  In a … Read more

streets flooded in Annapolis, MD

Warming Waters, Wildlife, and Communities

It’s June 2022 and wildfires are erupting in the West, including in the place I call home: California. With high temperatures and dry conditions caused by climate change, these fires … Read more

Committing to Equity in a Time of Crisis

As the COVID-19 crisis continues to unfold, we are seeing how inequities play out in our world. The pandemic is having a disproportionate impact on low-income communities of color–the same … Read more

What’s With That Dam?

What is the Conowingo Dam? The Conowingo Dam is a large, operational hydroelectric dam in the lower Susquehanna River near the town of Conowingo, Maryland close to the Pennsylvania border. … Read more

Chesapeake Bay

The Key to Conservation Is Not What You Think

The conservation field is chock-full of significant challenges like cleaning up polluted waterways and curtailing air pollution. In the case of the NWF-hosted Choose Clean Water Coalition, for which I … Read more

I Like Dirty Water…Said No One Ever

You would think passing a rule to protect one of our most limited resources would be easy. Think again. For the last decade and a half, the clean water community … Read more