After nearly two decades in the non-profit sector, Diana Donlon, a certified Philanthropic Advisor (Daylight 2026), is returning to her professional roots in philanthropy. With the launch of Wildwood Advising, she is connecting women donors with opportunities to support efforts that safeguard biodiversity and promote climate stability.

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, including Wangari Maathai, Ken Saro-Wiwa, and Marina Silva. Identifying innovative funding opportunities for the family’s philanthropic giving, she facilitated the creation of the Central Suriname Nature Reserve, Big River State Park, and the rebuilding of San Francisco’s Conservatory of Flowers. Recognizing that the global food system was a driver of environmental degradation, she became a founding member of Roots of Change, a foundation-collaborative focused on building climate-smart food systems.  

Diana next joined the national nonprofit Center for Food Safety, where 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 by the French Ministry of Agriculture during the Paris Climate Conference (COP21) in December 2015. Narrated by Michael Pollan, the piece created an aesthetic that has been widely emulated, and its animated footage has been incorporated into 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 and a colleague 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 a plethora of resources, including training and educational opportunities, a six-month regenerative ambassador program, and individualized coaching services. After helping hundreds of people from all walks of life find their regenerative path, Soil Centric merged in January 2026 with Climate Farm School, an immersive, experiential program.

She is now drawing on her in-depth knowledge of the ecosystem restoration landscape to accelerate the restoration of degraded ecosystems, an overlooked solution to the global biodiversity and climate crises. Diana is a skilled public speaker, excels at identifying trends, and brings a depth of social and intellectual capital to Wildwood Advising. 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.