Leslie Jonas

Leslie is an Elder Eel Clan member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. She holds a BA in Mass Comm & TV Production from Emerson College, an MS in Community Economic Dev, and is certified in DEI from Cornell U. She is an experienced planning strategist with a demonstrated history of working in media, higher ed, tribal govts, and env non-profits. Her work has centered on activism, Indigenous land and water conservation, climate change, cultural preservation of lifeways, and environmental justice. As a founding board officer, Leslie spent the past 13 yrs helping to build the first Indigenous conservation in this region, the Native Land Conservancy.

She studies climate change from the Indigenous perspective and produces educational video tools, “Connecting with the Natural Elements” and a “Climate – Indigenous Voices” video for audiences across many disciplines. Leslie co-teaches an Indigenous Env Planning class in DUSP at MIT, speaking publicly on climate change, re-wilding, cultural respect, traditional ecological knowledge, env justice and env self-determination. She was an Indigenous advisor for the MA Conservation Law Foundation from 2020-24, sits on the Justice40 advisory board, and is the first Wampanoag to sit on the Cape Cod Natl Seashore advisory commission. She is also a Keystone Cooperator trained in advising homeowners on Forestry management.

Leslie holds a significant role as a Research Administrator and the first-ever Tribal Liaison for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, where she provides Indigenous relationality and programmatic support to scientists in their work supporting our oceans and coastal communities. She spends much of her time building relationships with the Wampanoag Nation and other northern Turtle Island Tribes, a testament to her dedication to fostering meaningful connections and promoting equitable and just environmental conservation. Currently, Leslie is MIT’s MLK Jr Visiting Scholar/Professor in Anthropology, and teaches a class in DUSP.