Danielle Deane
Danielle Deane
Deane is a leading environmental philanthropy expert. She is a respected advisor of grantmaking practices and strategic initiatives. She has held positions at the Bezos Earth Fund, the Libra Foundation, the Nathan Cummings Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the Hewlett Foundation. Deane is a Senior Fellow at the Tishman Environment and Design Center at The New School in New York City.
“It may be helpful to pursue opportunities outside of the environmental field…in order to develop a broad skill set before settling on one aspect or position in the [environmental] field.” Danielle Deane, 2005.
Cork, S., Peterson, G., Petschel-Held, G., Lead, J., Alcamo, J., Alder, E., Bennett, E., Carr, D., Deane, G., Nelson, T., Contributing, C., Butler, E., Mendiondo, W., Oluoch-Kosura, M., Review, A., Concheiro, Y., Matsuoka, A., & Hammond. (n.d.). Four Scenarios. Retrieved October 18, 2023, from https://edwardrcarr.com/downloads/Cork%20et%20al.%20-%202006%20-%20Four%…
Danielle Deane was born in Trinidad and Tobago in 1973, the oldest of four children. Her mother was a teacher, and her father was a businessman. Environmental problems such as water pollution, industrial hazards, deforestation, and soil erosion plague the small island. The awareness of such issues influenced Deane’s career aspirations. She loved studying geography and often considered the relationship between people and the earth. Trinidad uses the British system of education in which students must specialize at a young age. Though she was very interested in the environment, Deane wanted to explore other topics before specializing. Consequently, she decided to attend college in the United States, where she would have more time to decide what to focus on.
One of Deane’s friends had attended Williams College in Massachusetts, so she followed their recommendation and applied. Deane received a scholarship and majored in political economy with a concentration in environmental studies. While attending Williams, the Sierra Club recruited Deane one summer to work as a canvasser and field manager. She was the team leader for a group of canvassers who organized support for a wetlands bill and conducted a membership drive for the organization. In 1996, she was a researcher with NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Deane graduated from Williams College in 1997.
In 2002, Deane completed a Master of Science in Environment and Development from The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). She was happy to be in a class with a “great group of international students” but was disappointed that, in her opinion, LSE did not challenge the economic status quo (2005). She was generally disappointed that all the graduate programs she researched seemed much more conservative than expected. Deane wanted to work in the environmental field on issues that affected people of color. She wanted to be involved in ways that would influence policy. As a result, one of her mentors suggested she consider working in a foundation because they made grants and influenced policy.
After graduating from Williams in 1997, Deane wanted to obtain business experience. Consequently, she took a position as a financial risk analyst/broker at Guy Carpenter & Company – the international reinsurance arm of Marsh & McLennan Companies. In 2001, Deane moved to London for graduate school. After completing her Master’s degree, she followed her mentor’s advice and sought a position at a foundation.
In 2003, Deane joined the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation as a Program Officer for the Environment. She was responsible for the New Constituencies for the Environment Program. In this position, she facilitated strategic development, grant making and the analysis, current policy, and research for proposed grants. Deane was also responsible for outreach related to the program. In this capacity, she was able to influence the building of a more diverse environmental field in California.
In 2012, Deane became the Director of Energy and Environmental Programs at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, where she helped increase the organization’s impact. One of Deane’s most significant achievements in this role was raising $600K during 18 months from private sources. In 2013, Deane became Principal at The Raben Group and Executive Director of Green 2.0. At Green 2.0, Deane helped release reports such as “Diversity in Environmental Institutions: Mainstream NGOs, Foundations & Government Agencies,” which helped to improve diversity in the mainstream environmental movement.
In 2016, after two years at the Raben Group and Green 2.0, Deane joined the U.S. Department of Energy in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy under the Obama administration. Deane was the Senior Advisor for External Affairs and Acting Director of Stakeholder Engagement. Deane’s primary role in this position was as a strategic advisor to drive the clean technology revolution and improve coordination between legislative and management teams. After the Obama administration left office, Deane transitioned into the role of Director of the Inclusive Clean Economy at the Nathan Cummings Foundation, a foundation working toward a sustainable and democratic society. Deane worked in this position for three years, working on evolving existing grant writing strategies.
In 2020, Deane joined The Libra Foundation as a Senior Advisor, guiding the foundation’s strategy and grantmaking. In 2021, Deane then went on to work for the Bezos Earth Fund as the Director of Equitable Climate Solutions. At the Bezos Earth Fund, Deane strengthened the foundation’s relationship with climate and environmental justice leaders. She also worked on multi-million dollar grants related to urban greening. Beginning in August 2023, Deane became a Senior Fellow at The New School in the Tishman Environment and Design Center in New York City. At The New School, Deane guides strategic plans for federal environmental justice initiatives such as Thriving Communities, Justice40, and the Greenhouse Gas Reductions Fund. Deane is also a Fellow of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment program.
Besides her passion and belief that she can make a difference, Deane attributes some of her success to several mentors she has had. Kai Lee, the Director of the Center of Environmental Studies at Williams, helped Deane with her intellectual development. Lee was one of Deane’s thesis advisors and was influential in helping her become academically rigorous as she developed her thinking about environmentalism. Lee is still a key advisor who guides Deane in her career decisions. Another of her thesis advisors, Jennifer Phillips, helped her to develop an international perspective.
In addition, Hal Harvey, her boss at the Hewlett Foundation, contributed to her growth in environmental policy, philanthropy, and political change in the environmental field. C. Harris, Jim Hansen, and Professor Shanti Singham also influenced Deane’s thinking about social justice issues, working with multicultural groups, politics, and Caribbean affairs.
Deane advises those seeking environmental careers to “Make sure you obtain a rigorous graduate school experience. Find strong mentors in the field and get experience in two or three different types of positions. It may be helpful to pursue opportunities outside of the environmental field; for example, working in the business world for a while in order to develop a broad skill set before settling on one aspect or position in the field” (2005).
Danielle Deane - Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Sustainability Initiative. (2022). Yale.edu. https://jedsi.yale.edu/participants/profile/danielle-deane
Meet the Tishman Center’s New Senior Fellow, Danielle Deane-Ryan. (2023, September 6). Tishman Environment and Design Center. https://www.tishmancenter.org/blog/meet-our-new-senior-fellow-danielle-d…
Tishman Environment and Design Center, 2023