Monica Medina is an Arnhold Distinguished Fellow at Conservation International. She most recently served as the first woman President and CEO of the Wildlife Conservation Society. From 2021-2023, she was the Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs and the first U.S. Special Envoy for Biodiversity and Water Resources at the U.S. State Department. She is a former small business owner having founded Our Daily Planet, an environmental e-mail newsletter. From 2015-2021, Medina was also an Adjunct Professor in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Medina has had a long career in environmental law, policy, philanthropy, media, and advocacy, including at the Walton Family Foundation and the National Geographic Society. In addition, from 2012-2013, Ms. Medina served as Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense, and from 2009-2012 as the Principal Deputy Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

Ms. Medina is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She attended Georgetown University on an Army R.O.T.C. scholarship and began her legal career on active duty in the Honor’s Program of the Army General Counsel’s office. For her service in the Army, Ms. Medina was awarded an Army Commendation Medal in 1989, and a Meritorious Service Medal in 1990. In 2013, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta awarded Ms. Medina the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Medal, its highest civilian honor.