Dr. Dorceta Taylor, Program Director and Principal Investigator
Dr. Dorceta Taylor is a distinguished professor at Yale University’s School of the Environment. She oversees the programming and strategic development for the Yale Conservation Scholars - Early Leadership Initiative and the Environmental Fellows program. She authored the most comprehensive report on diversity in the mainstream environmental movement, “Diversity in the Environmental Institutions: Mainstream NGOs, Foundations & Government Agencies,” commissioned by Green 2.0, which called for programs like YCS-ELI to diversify the conservation workforce. She is also the author of three books focused on environmental history and environmental justice.
Te’Yah Wright, Program Manager
(she/her/hers)
Te’Yah Wright is the Program Manager for the Yale Conservation Scholars – Early Leadership Initiative at the Yale School of the Environment. She earned her Master of Environmental Management from YSE, specializing in environmental policy, local and regional planning, community engagement, and environmental justice. With experience across government, philanthropy, and the nonprofit sectors, she has collaborated with a range of organizations to address critical environmental issues. Notably, she partnered with the City of New Haven to shape anti-gentrification and displacement strategies. Additionally, she has worked with WE ACT for Environmental Justice to develop and lead COP27 youth programming for the inaugural Climate Justice Pavilion. Te’Yah also holds a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, with a concentration in environmental ecology and biology, from Alcorn State University. She is a Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program at the University of Michigan alumnus and an Environmental Fellows Program alumnus.
For inquiries regarding the Yale Conservation Scholars - Early Leadership Initiative at Yale University, please email: ycs-eli@yale.edu.