Staff Biographies

Cheri Recchia – Mesoamerican Reef Program Director

Cheri serves as Director for the Summit Foundation’s Mesoamerican Reef program. The program focuses on conserving the ecosystem of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef – the second-longest barrier reef in the world (after Australia’s). The program provides grants in Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras to improve fisheries management, establish and manage marine protected areas, reduce water pollution, promote recovery of corals and other species, and improve the sustainability of tourism.

Cheri is a biological oceanographer with experience in marine conservation and resource management around the world. Prior to joining Summit, Cheri was Deputy Director of the Strategy, Learning and Evaluation Department at the Walton Family Foundation, where she supported strategy development within, and led evaluation of, the foundation’s Environment Program. Cheri’s other prior positions include directing ocean programs at the Wildlife Conservation Society, The Ocean Conservancy, and World Wildlife Fund Canada, as well as in threatened species conservation and management for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Cheri holds a Ph.D. from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

An avid scuba diver, Cheri spends as much time as possible near, on, or under the water.