Omar Villanueva is originally from the Southwest region of Mexico and grew up in Georgia. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and a Bachelor of Education in Science Education from the University of Georgia in Athens (UGA). Omar later completed his Ph.D. in Chemistry at Emory University, where he discovered his passion for green chemistry through research focused on developing earth-abundant metal catalysts for organic transformations.
With more than a decade of experience as a chemistry faculty member, Omar has mentored undergraduate students in sustainable catalysis research and collaborated with colleagues to integrate green chemistry principles into academic curricula. His work spans diverse projects, including developing alternative grading practices, designing new ACS-approved undergraduate courses, advancing social justice initiatives in chemistry, enhancing organic chemistry education, and conducting chemical education research. In addition, he has been actively involved in higher education leadership initiatives and expanding opportunities for underrepresented groups in science.
Before joining Beyond Benign, Omar was the Chemistry Department Chair in the School of Science and Technology at Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC). In addition to leading a large, diverse, interdisciplinary department, he led initiatives to grow new academic programs, increase institutional capacity for the meaningful evaluation of effective and inclusive teaching, and increase diversity among STEM faculty.
Omar is deeply committed to advancing green chemistry education and empowering educators, programs, and institutions to adopt transformative, sustainable practices. At Beyond Benign, he oversees the programmatic aspects of the organization’s green chemistry education initiatives, supporting efforts from K-12 through higher education.