Marisol Becerra

Dr. Marisol Becerra is the Environment Program Officer at The Joyce Foundation. She leads the Foundation’s climate solutions portfolio, focusing on state climate and clean energy policies in the Great Lakes region. Dr. Becerra brings 20 years of combined experience in the non-profit, academic, and government sectors.

Before joining the foundation, Dr. Becerra was an Assistant Professor of Public Policy at the University of Illinois Chicago, where she taught and mentored the next generation of policy leaders. Her environmental policy research has been published and cited in academic journals. In 2017, she was a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Graduate Fellow in the Office of U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, where she supported the environmental policy portfolio.

Dr. Becerra's environmental advocacy began when she co-founded a youth group with the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (2003-2008). As a youth organizer, she rallied to reduce air pollution from coal-fired power plants in Chicago. The Earth Island Institute nationally recognized her organizing efforts with the Brower Youth Award (2008).

Dr. Becerra holds a Ph.D. in Environment and Natural Resources from The Ohio State University, an M.S. in Environmental Policy and Environmental Justice from University of Michigan, and a B.A. in Public Policy Studies from DePaul University. She is an alumnus of the Gates Millennium Scholars and Ronald E. McNair Scholars programs.