Violet Wulf-Saena has served as an international climate change expert for over ten years working with the United Nations’ Least Developed Countries and Small Island States to protect communities from the impacts of climate change. Violet’s dedication to elevating community leadership and response to environmental justice is rooted from her lived experiences in the South-Pacific. She now works in the Bay Area partnering with governments, research institutions, and community-based organizations to build community capacity to respond to climate change and sea-level rise. In 2020, she founded Climate Resilient Communities (CRC). Alongside her work as CRC’s Executive Director, Violet serves as the equity program manager for the Bay Area Climate Adaptation Network (BayCAN), as an environmental justice advisor for the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), and as a community advisory council member to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD).

Violet earned her Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from the University of the South Pacific in Fiji. She also earned a Postgraduate Diploma in Environmental Management from Dresden University in Germany, a Postgraduate Diploma in Climate Change Urban Management Tools from Erasmus University in the Netherlands, a Proficiency Certificate in Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessments on Climate Change from Waikato University in New Zealand, and a Master’s in Environmental Management at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment in North Carolina.
violet.saena@crcommunities.org