Noemi Luján Perez

Noemi Lujan Perez is a first-generation Mexican-American who has merged her childhood passion for nature with her professional experience in strategic diversity public relations to forge a unique path in conservation and sustainability from a DEI lens.

A native Angeleno, Noemi's interest for nature and conservation was piqued by the "Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom" and "The Jacques Cousteau Odyssey" television shows, and weekend family outings to Ports O' Call, San Pedro and Olvera Street. She later attended the Los Angeles Zoo Magnet In pursuit of a career in the biological sciences, eventually shifting her focus to political science at the University of Southern California (USC).

He career path in public relations took shape as a collegiate through her involvement with La Raza PAC, a student-led effort to commemorate the life and legacy of Cesar Chavez and the Chicano Movement. Collectively, the students led and succeeded in an effort to establish a mural, the "American Studies" course of study, and bronze bust of Cesar Chavez. Noemi's role in the effort was to communicate with press on the importance of heritage conservation as a marker of cultural belonging for USC's Latino students.

Her on campus training led her to a role managing a public health and civil rights policy portfolio affecting Latino and LGBTQ consumers in California and working with diversity press. She was then tapped to develop and manage the policy and public affairs department for the now-defunct National LLEGÓ, a national Latino health advocacy organization. In Washington, DC, her work encompassed representing Latino health and LGBTQ issues to the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA) and driving media coverage to influence opinion on key issues.

Her insight and background combining advocacy and media eventually led to her role at The Caraway Group, an African American public affairs firm. As director of media relations, Noemi supported diversity PR, marketing and strategic relations client work for Microsoft Corp., MGM Resorts, RLJ Companies, and others. From there, she went on to serve as communications director for the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

The fusion between her childhood passion and professional background occurred when she was tapped to serve as deputy chief of communications for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. There, she was able to spearhead and implement the Nontraditional Stakeholder Engagement Platform (NSEP) to support Agency leadership in their efforts to champion diversity stakeholder interests and increase media coverage in niche media. She developed the Agency's MOUs with historic African American and Latino organizations including Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., and LULAC.

Her role with the Agency also allowed her to support cross-cutting efforts across the Department of Interior, including the National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management. This included supporting workforce development efforts to increase hiring, retention, and promotion of racial minorities through national youth programs and recruitment efforts.

Over the last two years, Noemi has managed a portfolio developing strategic diversity communications and stakeholder relations initiatives focused on outdoor recreation, wildlife conservation, and national parks. This included supporting the development an historic partnership MOU between the National Park Service and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. in commemoration of the Women's Suffrage Centennial in 2020, and supporting Latino heritage site conservation within the national park system.

Noemi's journey from a childhood enjoying nature and time spent at "la placita Olvera" at the El Pueblo de Los Angéles National Historic Monument through a career influencing diversity messages for cause-related and corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts has evolved to a mission-driven effort to help brands and industries strengthen their sustainable goals. She uses her education from the USC Gould School of Law in compliance and HR law, and couples it with her CSR training from Pepperdine University's Graziadio School of Business, and DEI training from the University of South Florida's Muma School of Business, to build cross-cutting public relations blueprints for brands.