Episode #2 Urban Tree Sustainability Dr.Antoneya Graves | Mona N. Cummings - a podcast by Antoneya Banks Graves

Mona has spent over two decades developing highly collaborative teams, focused on creating positive impact across the community. She possesses a deep experience in the cultivation and stewardship of public-private partnerships, cross-cultural communication, fundraising, recruitment, and capacity-building. Many assignments have required Mona to relocate to highly disadvantaged communities. She speaks fluent Portuguese and conversational Spanish.

After graduating Missouri State University in 1994 with a degree in biology, Mona began her career as a Peace Corps Volunteer working in forestry on the Portuguese-speaking island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe, West Africa. During two years of national service, she served as an integral member of a research team, producing scientific data, which eventually led to the establishment of Obo National Park.

Upon returning from São Tomé, Mona was selected to serve as a team leader for the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps in Washington, DC, twice as a group leader for Operation Crossroads Africa (Tanzania and Brazil), and then once again as a Peace Corps (Response) Volunteer in Mozambique.

In addition to living and working overseas, Mona spent the 2000s in California, serving five years as a Peace Corps Regional Recruiter (San Francisco) and then five years as a Development Director for California State University, Fresno, where she simultaneously earned a Master of Public Administration (MPA) in 2012.

Mona possesses strong skills in cross-cultural communication, consistently seeking out shared values and goals with others, regardless of background. Her own family is reflective of her bicultural existence, blending values from Africa and the United States under one roof. In fact, in 2014, Mona moved her family to Zimbabwe, where her children attended local schools and she served as Africa Regional Director for Tererai Trent International, a non-governmental organization (NGO) focused on increasing educational opportunities for girls.

In 2017, Mona returned to California with her family. She served nearly two years as a fundraiser with United Way before being selected as CEO of Tree Fresno in October 2019. In her latest role, Mona engages her background in forestry and team management to lead the charge in the transformation of the San Joaquin Valley with water-wise trees and increased green space.

Mona has been an active member of the Rotary Club of Fresno since 2007. When she is not driving her teenagers from place to place, she enjoys a variety of hobbies related to eating well and staying fit.

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