Chenelle Bonavito Martinez

Senior Vice President, Operations & Project Development

Chenelle Bonavito Martinez is the Senior Vice President of Operations and Project Development at The New York Academy of Sciences, where she leads cross-functional strategy, operational delivery, and organizational effectiveness across a broad portfolio. In this role, Chenelle oversees the Academy’s core operational infrastructure, including Event Operations, Marketing, and Membership, ensuring systems and services run efficiently and are aligned with the Academy’s long-term strategic goals.

In addition to operations, she spearheads high-impact institutional initiatives and cross-departmental projects, leading complex change efforts that advance growth across the organization.

Chenelle has held several leadership roles at the Academy, including Vice President of STEM Talent Programs, where she directed the Global STEM Alliance and its global mentorship and skills-development initiatives, and Director of Policy, overseeing the Academy’s science policy and innovation challenge portfolios. In these roles, she partnered with academia, industry, and government to foster STEM talent, drive innovation, and strengthen entrepreneurship ecosystems locally and globally.

Before joining the Academy, Chenelle worked at the National Committee on American Foreign Policy, coordinating high-level Track II diplomatic dialogues and briefings on regions including Ethiopia and Central Asia.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Fordham University and a Master’s degree in Global Affairs from New York University.