Christiana DeBenedict

Christiana DeBenedict serves as Director of Environmental Initiatives at San Diego Foundation (SDF) and oversees a portfolio of environment initiatives with a focus on environmental equity, supporting our most vulnerable communities facing air and water pollution, climate change impacts and lack of access to green spaces.

Since 2021, she has managed the Climate and Outdoor Initiatives; led the establishment of the Binational Resilience Initiative, which has supported over $2 million in funding for binational coastal resilience projects; launched the Climate Funders Collaborative (San Diego / Baja / Imperial); directed the San Diego County’s Food Community Grant Program facilitating over $5.5 million in grants to support local food systems; and currently serving as lead applicant for a Transformative Climate Communities grant of $22 million and an Environmental Protection Agency Community Change Grant of $20 million to facilitate over $42 million in funding to community-driven climate projects benefiting the historic central barrios of San Diego.

Prior to her tenure at SDF, Christiana worked at The Nonprofit Institute at the University of San Diego, managing The Equinox Project and the Outdoor Leaders Initiative. She also directed the San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative, a network of cities and public agencies working to advance local climate solutions. She was Assistant Director of Climate Education Partners, a $5 million National Science Foundation funded project that engaged and informed government, business and community leaders on local climate impacts.

Christiana graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a Bachelor of Arts in Hispanic Languages and Bilingual Issues and holds an International MBA from IE Business School in Madrid, Spain.