Here at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), we know our strength comes from the people who make up our movement — from our staff, to our partners, to our steadfast supporters. Our “Meet Our Staff” series will introduce you to some of our amazing staff members, who work behind the scenes every day to defend the right to a healthy environment.
Cate Bonacini is the Communications Manager at CIEL and has been with us since March. She got her B.A. from St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland. Cate worked in health care advocacy for nearly a decade before switching gears and joining the environmental community at CIEL. We talked with Cate about what she does here at CIEL, what excites her about the future, who she is as a person, and more below.
I understand you previously worked in health care advocacy for nearly a decade. Can you tell me a little bit about that work?
Cate: I was with several different organizations working to elevate the voices of people struggling to access and afford health care. I ran a program for many years where I went into communities across the United States to interview people who were coming up against all kinds of issues — everything from affording their prescriptions to finding a doctor who would see them, and getting their insurance companies to provide life-saving services. I would interview folks and then help support them in sharing their stories publicly to advocate for change. Sometimes that meant working with the press, other times policymakers, and legal teams. It was inspiring and dynamic work, especially when health care was one of the most rapidly-evolving public policy storylines in the United States.
What has the transition to CIEL and environmental work been like?
C: At every organization I worked for, health care was considered a human right. So, jumping into CIEL, where we emphasize human rights and letting communities lead has felt familiar. Actually, I did some graduate coursework on environmental issues, thinking that I wanted to work on water policy in my professional life. But midway through my master’s degree, I became extremely sick and was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. The diagnosis put my master’s on hold, and I found myself suddenly cutting my advocacy teeth in the health care battles before the US Supreme Court. I always intended to come back to environmental policy; I just didn’t know when, where, or how.
What has it been like joining the team remotely during COVID-19?
C: It’s been hard! On my first day, I picked up my computer. The other staff and I gave each other elbow bumps because elbow bumps were okay at the time and waved goodbye and said, “I’ll see you in a couple of weeks.” That hasn’t happened! It’s been interesting trying to carve out time and places for those get-to-know-you chats in the kitchen that you would typically have. But people have been so warm and welcome and receptive. I’ve still been able to grab drinks with people virtually or play board games or talk about music; we’ve just had to be a little creative in how we do that.
What has been one of the biggest challenges you’ve found in your role? What about opportunities?
C: Translating the work of our amazing, dedicated, brilliant lawyers into plain language so that we can make it more accessible to people is exciting and also a challenge. Working in health care taught me that people desperately want to understand the policies that shape and affect their lives in language that makes sense to them. They want to know what’s happening, who can help them, and how they can fight back against a power imbalance. The same is true in the environmental space, especially around toxics and pollutants. I’m thinking about how to make our work more accessible and more visible.
What do you wish other people knew about CIEL?
C: A few weeks ago, somebody said that each of our staff members could be an entire wing of a major research institution or university in terms of the depth of knowledge that they provide. Our Communications Department wants to be a champion for them and our partners. So a lot of our work is strategizing about how to best accomplish that in the world.
If you could learn any new skill, what would it be?
C: I read several different languages fluently — French, some Spanish, some Italian, and then other dead languages — but I am not a good conversationalist in any of them. So I would love to increase my conversational ability at some point and be able to speak to people in these languages I can already read.
If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
C: Speed reading — I’m going to call that a superpower. I have too many books! When I moved, I had 60 boxes of books, and I would love to be able to plow through them much more quickly.
If you had a surprise day off from CIEL, how would you spend it?
C: I am a Zen Buddhist, and the recognition that everything is interconnected has been another draw to this kind of work. I’ve taken very specific vows in Buddhism around protecting the planet and fellow humans and beings, so this is profoundly moral work for me. Usually, when I take days off, it’s for long silent retreats where I’ll go out in nature, or I’ll go to a monastery for a period of time and sit and meditate for a couple of days or a week or a month. So, if I were to take a day off, that’s probably what I’d do right now.
Interviewed by Sarah Street, Communications Intern
Originally posted on November 13, 2020