Diana Donlon is a certified Impact Philanthropy Advisor (Daylight 2026) and the founder of Wildwood Advising. Her goal is to connect women funders with organizations restoring degraded ecosystems – an overlooked solution to the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate instability.

A Bay Area native, Diana began her professional career in family philanthropy working for Richard & Rhoda Goldman. As a program executive for the Goldman Environmental Prize, she elevated the campaigns of global environmental champions and identified innovative funding opportunities for the family’s philanthropic giving. She later became a founding member of Roots of Change, a foundation collaborative focused on building resilient food systems.  

Later at the nonprofit Center for Food Safety, she launched the Soil Solutions program, which connected soil health to climate stability. Soil Solutions to Climate Problems, a short film she produced, was screened during the Paris Climate Conference (COP21) in December 2015. Narrated by Michael Pollan, the piece’s animated footage has appeared in several feature-length documentaries, including Kiss the Ground. Throughout this time, Diana continued to advise a variety of family foundations supporting youth and agricultural programs, most notably the William Zimmerman Foundation. In 2019, Diana co-founded Soil Centric, a platform that connected people who weren’t born into farming and ranching with regenerative agriculture and ecosystem restoration. Soil Centric offered users training and educational opportunities, a six-month regenerative ambassador program, and individualized coaching services. In January 2026, after helping hundreds of people find their regenerative path, Soil Centric merged with Climate Farm School, an immersive, experiential program.

Diana has a Bachelor’s degree in History from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master’s in Education from Harvard University, and served for two years in the Peace Corps in Morocco. She was selected as a featured leader in ChangeNOW's global Women for Change Campaign in 2024.

Photo: Leslie Walker