Michelle J. DePass
TNC Board Member and Immediate Past President, Meyer Memorial Trust
Fairfield, California
Michelle DePass TNC Board Member and President and CEO, Meyer Memorial Trust. © Michael Rubenstein
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Social, Economic and Environmental Justice
Board Term
October 2020 - October 2029Media Contact
Email: media@tnc.orgBiography
Michelle J. DePass is the immediate past president of Meyer Memorial Trust and a nationally recognized leader at the intersection of social, economic and environmental justice.
Michelle’s journey to the helm of Oregon’s second largest private foundation began in her hometown of New York City, where she worked as a community organizer and civil rights lawyer. In the succeeding three decades, she has developed a rich interdisciplinary background and distinguished herself as a thought leader at the intersections of academia, political strategy and progressive philanthropy and social and economic justice.
Michelle is committed to overcoming structural and historical barriers to social and political equality and economic justice for women, people of color, Indigenous communities, LGBTQ+ people and people with disabilities.
During the Obama administration, Michelle served as Assistant Administrator for International and Tribal Affairs of the Environmental Protection Agency, where she was responsible for all dimensions of environmental policy between the agency, other nations, federally recognized Tribal Nations, and multilateral institutions and donors. Michelle came to Meyer in 2018 after serving as dean of the Milano School of International Affairs, Management and Urban Policy at The New School in New York and director of the Tishman Environment and Design Center, shepherding both the program and the university toward environmental stewardship and a greater focus on social justice.