About Angelo

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I am a scientist by training, a policy advocate in profession, but an Indigenous Micronesian from the island of Saipan since birth.  I use Indigenous knowledge and values and the scientific method to address modern threats to nature including habitat loss, fishing, and climate colonialism.

I worked at The Pew Charitable Trusts where I was an advocate for the designation and expansion of the national marine monuments in the Pacific Islands and a policy expert on global shark conservation.  I also led efforts to secure an agreement at the International Union for Conservation of Nature committing governments to protect at least 30% of the ocean in fully to highly protected marine areas.

Since 2021 I have worked for the Center for American Progress where my focus is on Indigenous-led conservation and ocean justice, and ensuring that the America the Beautiful initiative delivers a holistic network of geographically representative marine protected areas that are just, well-designed, and well-managed. 

I hold bachelor’s degrees in biology from the University of Richmond and environmental policy from Rollins College.  I am also a mediocre ukulele player who enjoys scuba diving in warm tropical waters full of fish.

MEDIA

Profiles

• Underwater Overseer, Rollins 360
• Charting a New Course for Ocean Conservation, UR Now
• Redefining Conservation with Angelo Villagomez, As Spiders Do: From the University of Richmond Alumni Office

Indigenous led Conservation

• To Conserve the Ocean, Start With the People Who Live There, Center for American Progress
• Under the Pala Pala, Center for American Progress
• When Indigenous Rights, Conservation, and a Very Lucrative Fishery Collide, Sierra
• The New Taboos, Nautilus Magazine
• Tide Turning As Indigenous Groups Help Steer Global Effort To Save Oceans, Radio France International
• The Pentagon Wants to Bomb the Hell Out of This Tiny Pacific Island, Huffington Post

30x30

• The importance of the latest global biodiversity pledge, 1A
• SOS: Preserving biodiversity around the world, 1A
• How a New Database Can Help Protect the Ocean, Nautilus
• Q&A: What Does the 'High Seas Treaty' Mean for Climate Change and Biodiversity, Carbon Brief

Marine Protected Areas

• Marine Protected Areas, Explained, Hakai Magazine
• America's Best Idea to Protect Its Ocean Has One Big Problem: It's Not Working, Vox
• We've Only Really Protected 2% of the Ocean, Earther
• Meet the Global Conservation Decision Makers You've Never Heard Of, Scuba Diving Magazine
• Study suggests MPAs and fisheries closures can benefit highly migratory marine species, Mongabay

Mariana Trench

• Letter from the White House Council on Environmental Quality
• Off the Deep End, Outside Magazine
• Marianas Says U.S. Has Failed to Fulfill Ocean Monument Promises, New York Times
• Sea Change, NBC Nightly News, VIDEO
• Mariana Trench Marine Monument, KSPN

Climate Colonialism

• Climate Change Could Punish Fish Habitats Targeted for Conservation, Florida Times Union
• Marine Protected Areas Offer No Protection From Climate Change, News Deeply
• UN report: Ocean biodiversity in peril due to overfishing and climate change, Seafood Source

Pollution

• How do plastics get to the bottom of the sea? WHYY, a public radio station
• A Troubling Discovery in the Deepest Ocean Trenches, The Atlantic

Random

• Coconut crab is frighteningly large, Boing boing
• Convention or Catwalk? Inside the DNC Fashion Show, Newsweek
• For islander delegates, 8,000 mile journey to history The Philly Inquirer
• Let's Talk Tiki Bars: Harmless Fun or Exploitation? NPR

Sharks

• Association of Pacific Island Legislatures 2015 resolution
• 'Shark Week' Fuels Shark Meat Feeding Frenzy at Restaurants, NPR
• Seized shark fins dumped in Pacific Ceremony, AFP
• Victory for vulnerable whale sharks at Pacific meeting, AFP
• British Virgin Islands establishing sanctuary for all shark species in its territorial waters, AP
• How We Can Protect Our Wandering Sharks, Forbes
• Obama Accused of undermining shark conservation, The Guardian

Even More Sharks

• Proposed federal shark-finning rule sparks state concerns, E&E News
• Tiny state big on shark protection, New Zealand Herald
• Shark fin demand drops as Chinese government cracks down on spending, Radio Australia
• Shark fin vendors report 82 per cent drop in sales after anti-corruption campaign, South China Morning Post
• Kids Help Save the Oceans With Shark Stanley, Mental Floss
• Go Scuba Diving in a Marine Sanctuary Without Leaving Your Desk, American Scientist
• Shark Fin Controversy, Surfer Magazine
• Shark Fin Soup is Going Extinct, VICE
• China's Anti-Corruption Crackdown is Saving Sharks, International Business Times
• Shark fin soup off the menu: China's crackdown on extravagant banquets gives sharks a second chance, The Independent
• Save the Sharks by Swimming With Them, Smithsonian Magazine
• Shark Week is Making People Go Nuts Eating Threatened Sharks, Jezebel
• Shark Week has jumped the shark, The Daily Dot
• Swimming With Giants, Mission Blue
• Across the world's seas, more refuges for predators, Conservation International
• Shark Summit: Bimini, The Bahamas, Coastal Angler Magazine
• Save the Sharks, Trinidad Express
• Ground Breaking Science Could Help Manage Sharks, The Bahamas Weekly
• Pacific Lawmakers Call For Ocean Wide Shark Protections, OceaniaTV
• International Organization On a Drive to Preserve the Lives of Sharks, CC6 Grenada
• Guam Among First to Protect Sharks, KUAM News
• Sharkwater Saipan, Sharkwater
• Guam Shark Tsunami, The Pew Charitable Trusts

THINGS I WROTE & SAID

Indigenous-led Conservation

• Indigenous-led Marine Conservation Should be the Future of Our Movement
• Social Equity and the Need to Decolonize Marine Conservation in the Pacific Islands
• 5 Ways Scientists, NGOs, and Governments Can Support Indigenous-led Conservation
• U.S. Pacific Territories and the America the Beautiful Initiative Can Deliver Ocean Climate Solutions
• Understanding Indigenous-led Conservation
• Dreaming of a Protected Ocean

30x30

• Why Conserving 30x30 is More Than a Numbers Game
• The US Territories Will Be Key for Achieving the Goals of America the Beautiful
• MPAs and 30x30
• It Will Take 880 Years to Achieve UN Ocean Conservation Goals

Marine Protected Areas

• Pacific Cultural Exchanges Promote Best Practices for Ocean Protection
• Leading Marine Scientists Call On President Obama to Expand Hawaii Marine Reserve
• Global Body Moves to Help Countries Apply Marine Protection
• Research Key to Boosting Benefits of Large Marine Protected Areas
• Can Spatial Protections in the Ocean Help Large Migratory Species?
• To Achieve 30% Ocean Protection, Governments Can Look Beyond Conventional Tools
• New Framework Helps to Clearly Define Marine Protections and Benefits
• The 'Pluto Moment' for Marine Protected Areas
• More Work Needed on MPAs

Sharks

• Turks and Caicos Islands Approves Shark Export Ban
• Pew Commends Federated States of Micronesia Action to Protect Sharks
• Worldwide Launch for New Shark Stanley Book Kicks Off in Grenada
• Micronesian States Vote to Declare Shark Sanctuaries
• The Return of Shark Stanley
• Enforcing Laws of the World's Shark Sanctuaries
• Pacific Leaders Call for Oceanwide Shark Protections
• U.S. Rule Could Limit Micronesian Efforts to Protect Sharks
• World's Largest Tuna Body Grants Protection for Whale Sharks, But Continues to Endorse Overfishing
• Tracking Shark Fins in the Marketplace
• Song of the Sea
• Protecting Sharks That Protect Islanders
• Disposing of Confiscated Shark Fins
• A Trip to Chuuk's Shark Islands

Advocacy

• Writing an Effective Ocean Advocacy Letter

Offshore Wind

• To Protect Whales, We Should Ban Offshore Oil and Gas, Not Wind Farms

Reports

• Kerr, J., P. DeSalles,  S. Earle,  K. Kikiloi, D McCauley, R. Macpherson, S. Maxwell,  R. Richmond,  C. Roberts, N. Spies, U. R. Somalia,  and A. Villagomez. Pu‘uhonua A Place of Sanctuary: The Cultural and Biological Significance of the proposed expansion for the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. (2016)
• Briggs, J., S. K. Baez, T. Dawson, B. Golder, B. C. O'Leary, J. Petit, C. M. Roberts, A. Rogers, and A. Villagomez. Recommendations to IUCN to Improve Protected Area Classification and Reporting. (2018)
• Upadhye, A., Z. Mirza, and A. Villagomez. Proposed National Marine Sanctuaries Provide a Pathway Toward Indigenous-Led Ocean Conservation. (2023)

Peer-Reviewed Scientific Papers

• Parsons, E. C. M., R. MacPherson, and A. Villagomez. "Marine “Conservation”: You Keep Using That Word but I Don't Think It Means What You Think It Means." Frontiers in Marine Science 4 (2017): 299.
• Bennett, Nathan J., Laure Katz, Whitney Yadao-Evans, Gabby N. Ahmadia, Scott Atkinson, Natalie C. Ban, Neil Dawson et al. "Advancing social equity in and through marine conservation." Frontiers in Marine Science 8 (2021): 994.
• Grorud-Colvert, Kirsten, Jenna Sullivan-Stack, Callum Roberts, Vanessa Constant, Barbara Horta e Costa, Elizabeth P. Pike, Naomi Kingston et al. "The MPA Guide: A framework to achieve global goals for the ocean." Science 373, no. 6560 (2021): eabf0861.
• Ahmadia, Gabby N., Samantha H. Cheng, Dominic A. Andradi-Brown, Stacy K. Baez, Megan D. Barnes, Nathan J. Bennett, Stuart J. Campbell et al. "Limited Progress in Improving Gender and Geographic Representation in Coral Reef Science." Frontiers in Marine Science (2021): 1334.
• Johnson, Steven Mana‘oakamai and Angelo O. Villagomez. "Assessing the Quantity and Quality of Marine Protected Areas in the Mariana Islands." Frontiers in Marine Science (2022): 1986.
• Pike, Elizabeth P., Jessica MC MacCarthy, Sarah O. Hameed, Nikki Harasta, Kirsten Grorud‐Colvert, Jenna Sullivan‐Stack, Joachim Claudet et al. "Ocean protection quality is lagging behind quantity: Applying a scientific framework to assess real marine protected area progress against the 30 by 30 target." Conservation Letters (2024): e13020.
• Villagomez, Angelo, and Steven Mana’oakamai Johnson. "Disavowing the Doctrine of Discovery: Indigenous Healing, Decolonization, and Implications for Environmental Justice in the Pacific Remote Islands Area." Environmental Justice (2024).
• Sullivan-Stack, Jenna, Gabby N. Ahmadia, Dominic A. Andradi-Brown, Alexandra Barron, Cassandra M. Brooks, Joachim Claudet, Barbara Horta e Costa et al. "Assessments of expected MPA outcomes can inform and improve biodiversity conservation: Case studies using The MPA Guide." Marine Policy 170 (2024): 106364.