Melissa Wright

Melissa Wright is a senior member of the environment team at Bloomberg Philanthropies, where she leads the Bloomberg Ocean Initiative. Launched in 2014, the initiative seeks to promote science-based, high-impact marine protection policies and protect some of the world’s most climate change-resistant coral reefs. The initiative is currently focused on galvanizing support for the global target to protect or conserve at least 30 percent of the planet’s land and ocean by 2030, known as 30×30.

Previously, Wright served as the director of the City Energy Project at the Natural Resources Defense Council, where she led an initiative to create healthier and more prosperous American cities by improving the energy efficiency of buildings. Wright also held senior roles in the City of New York, serving as a policy advisor in Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration and driving urban environmental and climate initiatives. She joined the Global Fishing Watch board in 2019 and serves on the board of the philanthropic organization Oceans 5.

Wright holds a master’s degree of public administration in environmental policy and science from Columbia University’s School of International & Public Affairs, where she was an adjunct professor, and a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from Oberlin College.