Tony DeFalco is the Living Cully Ecodistrict Coordinator at Verde, coordinating the nation’s first equity driven ecodistrict designed to re-interpret sustainability as an anti-poverty strategy. His expertise in community economic development, environmental protection and sustainability spans 15 years of working locally and nationally in environmental advocacy, coalition building and policy advocacy. His current focus includes redevelopment of a landfill into a park in a low-income neighborhood in Portland and strengthening communities of color and low income communities in deriving economic benefit from environmental investments.

 

He is a founding board member of the Center for Diversity and the Environment and serves as a trustee of Earthjustice. He also serves on the Port of Portland’s Citizen Advisory Committee and the Portland Development Commission’s Neighborhood Economic Development Council.

 

Tony holds a master’s degree in Natural Resources Planning and Interpretation from Humboldt State University and a bachelor’s degree in Ethnic Studies from the University of California at Berkeley.

 

Tony is an avid birdwatcher and leads Feathers of Color, a birding group for people of color. He lives in Portland with his partner Molly.