Michael Zellner

Michael Zellner joined the Sonoran Institute as chief executive officer in October 2020. Mike has 30 years of experience building award-winning collaborations for global organizations, including The Nature Conservancy, Dow Jones & Co., and Euromoney. At The Nature Conservancy, Mike collaborated with international, regional and local stakeholders to conserve more than 450,000 acres, raise more than $30 million, build advisory boards in Latin America, and secure the largest corporate partnership in the history of the organization.

Before joining The Nature Conservancy, Mike worked for more than two decades as a business journalist in Mexico and the Americas. He helped to launch the editorial operations of AméricaEconomía (Dow Jones & Co.) and LatinFinance (Euromoney) in Mexico City, Sao Paulo, and Miami. At the end of the 1990s, Mike made the shift from editor-in-chief to owner, buying Miami-based business magazine Latin Trade. Mike led the publication to 27 editorial awards in seven years, and promoted the growth of the Bravo Business Awards into the premier awards ceremony in the Americas.

Mike studied Economics at Tufts University and speaks English, Spanish, and Portuguese fluently. Mike, his wife, artist and photographer Eugenia Vargas-Pereira, and their dog Batuco enjoy trekking, travel, and cooking.