Justin Gulino

Justin Gulino is NCEL’s Conservation Associate, a role where he assists legislators on issues such as mainstreaming biodiversity into decision-making, pollinator protection and pesticide reform, endangered species protection, and invasive species control. In his five years at NCEL, he has seen the eagerness of state legislators from across the country and between political spectrums to conserve nature for their constituents for generations to come. Crucially, Justin recognizes the need of connecting state policy to national and global conservation goals while emphasizing the critical role of states in implementing these frameworks.

Justin is also fortunate to be a PhD student at the Victoria University of Wellington where he is researching how community-based management can be a driver of biodiversity recovery. Wellington is one of the only cities in the world to recover biodiversity at scale and holds potentially relevant information for other governments seeking to bend the curve of global biodiversity loss. Further, his research employs an interdisciplinary framework to understand how institutional, social, and ecological dimensions blend together to create ecological outcomes. His final research is expected to be complete by mid-2028. 

Justin also holds a Masters Degree in Environmental Management from Duke University and undergraduate degrees in International Affairs and Environmental Studies from George Washington University.

In his free time, Justin enjoys advising peer environmental organizations, honing his environmental communication skills, and spending time with friends outdoors. One of his greatest joys is waking up and falling asleep to the calls of the kākā parrot, a species once extinct in Wellington, which serves as a personal reminder of how biodiversity can be successfully restored worldwide.