Mar 18, 2025
America the Beautiful for All Coalition Welcomes New Executive Director
Today, the America the Beautiful for All Coalition (AtB4A) announced Shantha Ready Alonso as its first-ever executive director. Ms. Alonso most recently helmed intergovernmental and external affairs for the U.S. Department of the Interior under Secretary Deb Haaland.
AtB4A co-chairs Mark Magaña, Founding President and CEO GreenLatinos, Nsedu Obot Witherspoon, Executive Director of the Children’s Environmental Health Network, and Abbie Dillen, President of Earthjustice, released the following joint statement:
“Shantha will be a transformational leader for the coalition as it pivots to working across multiple jurisdictions to champion the communities on the frontlines of the nature loss crisis. She will uplift and elevate a unified voice for the hundreds of groups large and small around the nation who believe conservation and a safe, healthy environment is a right for everyone.”
In response, AtB4A executive director Shantha Ready Alonso released the following statement:
“I am ready to build on the last two years’ successes of this coalition. America the Beautiful for All helped deliver some of the most important conservation wins in a generation. We are going to defend those gains by working with policy makers in Congress, Tribes, states, and local governments.
“Americans don’t support broadside attacks on our air, water, wildlife, ocean, and lands. The American people deserve stewards of our nation’s public lands and waters who carry out their work with moral concern and a sense of justice. Our coalition will uphold those expectations for ourselves, as well as for our policy makers. We are fostering an inclusive conservation movement at a time when the environment and equity initiatives are being openly attacked with zeal by the White House. We are firm in our commitment to protect the most vulnerable among us from the consequences of nature loss.”
About Shantha Ready Alonso
Shantha was Director of Intergovernmental and External Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Interior under the leadership of Secretary Deb Haaland. Before serving at Interior, she worked in faith-based organizations, including Creation Justice Ministries where she was executive director for five years. She holds a Master of Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis, a Master of Pastoral Studies from Eden Theological Seminary, and did her undergraduate work at the University of Notre Dame.
The America the Beautiful For All Coalition is comprised of hundreds of organizations representing millions of Americans who unite under a shared agenda to build shared power that conserves our water, land and wildlife for future generations. For more information, contact the coalition’s communications consultant, Tony Iallonardo at tony@i-strategies.net.
