A genuine interest in the environment

Rossana Gaudioso has specialized in economics and environmental policy, economics of climate change and natural resources and energy planning, particularly in the area of ​​long-term demand and supply of energy, evaluation of energy and environmental policies and studies of evaluation of economic impact of climate change and adaptation and mitigation programs to climate change.

She was Director of Planning and Energy Studies of the National Directorate of Energy and Nuclear Technology of the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining, during the period 2001-2012 and research professor at the Institute of Economics of the Faculty of Economic Sciences and Administration of the University of the Republic (2011-2018). She currently works as an Economist in the National Secretariat of Environment, Water and Climate Change of the Presidency of the Republic, Uruguay.

Rossana is an Economist, has a postgraduate degree in Economics of Climate Change and Natural Resources, and a master's degree in Economics and Energy and Environmental Policy.

Carlos has more than 15 years of experience on climate change, environment, agriculture, and sustainability. His experience includes seven years at the Climate Change Division of the Inter-American Development Bank where he led the design, implementation and management of climate change adaptation and mitigation projects and technical assistance. More recently, he has worked climate finance and project development for the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the Global Environment Fund (GEF), the Adaptation Fund, the NAMA Facility, and the International Climate Initiative (IKI), for international organizations and Governments, including Multilateral Development Banks (World Bank, IADB, CAF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Carlos holds a PhD in Applied Economics from Purdue University. He has worked in project development and technical assistance in close to 40 countries in Latin America, Africa, the North Africa and the Middle East, and Asia and the Pacific.

Robert contributes thirty years of international project development, proposal management, financing and stakeholder engagement experience within multi-cultural teams promoting Integrated land and water management and, transboundary water basin governance and climate adaptation actions across Latin America, the Caribbean and Central Asia with UN agencies, NGOs and Civil society and private sector concerns and with donors such as the Global Environment Facility, USAID, and multi-lateral banks in addition to major gift fundraising.

He is a specialist in facilitating creative and participative project development processes, technical and economic analysis, and negotiation of project outcomes and loans at the highest levels of government. His projects have funded initiatives in water infrastructure, biodiversity, sustainable landscape management, transboundary water management, Sustainable land management, protected areas financing, and climate smart agriculture and livestock management. Robert has held leadership positions in Corporate and Social Sustainability in the mining industry.

Robert holds a degree in Forest Resources Management and private sector experience in the development of technical training programs in sustainable agriculture, forestry, water management among others. He has produced technical manuals and guidelines for Environment and Social Management Impact Analysis and for portfolio level project design. He is based out of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Irene Rodriguez contributes over 20 years of experience in Latin America and the Caribbean, providing technical advisory services on governance and social policies for vulnerable populations, mainstreaming gender projects, programs and policies, among others, in the socio-environmental field. For several years, she has worked as country manager for UN Women in Uruguay.

In recent years she has served as an evaluator of policies, programs and projects. Irene has extensive experience working with international teams of interdisciplinary experts and has worked with a range of countries across Latin America.
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Irene is a Bachelor in Information Science and holds a double Master Degree in Gender Studies and Equal Opportunities Policies as well as Women and Development. She has also completed additional trainings such as “Evaluation and Management of the Quality of Humanitarian Action” in the Institute of Studies on Conflict and Humanitarian Action. She is currently being trained in “Forced Migrations”.

Master in Forest Management with emphasis in production and environment. Carla has extensive experience in the areas of environmental management and climate change. She has also worked as an environmental service provider for projects in the value chains of cocoa, livestock, citrus and coffee. She has worked as a systematizing experiences in international cooperation projects, developing mechanisms for environmental and social management of international cooperation projects and in the financial management of social and environmental development projects.

Since 1988, Stanley works in protected natural areas, where he started as a volunteer, then as manager and later being instructor, advisor and international consultant, for governments and NGOs in almost all Latin American countries.

Stanley works on all issues related to the management of protected areas, having deeply developed the modern management promoted by the 12 principles of the Ecosystem Approach, the general and thematic strategic and operational planning, the promotion of good governance and the evaluation of management and the development of technologies for managers.

Stanley studied chemical engineering and architecture, being his 31-year professional practice, the school where he best learned about conservation. However, he also attender additional trainings and international events, has developed consultations in multiple countries and has 15 technical publications. He has also coordinated more than 100 courses and developed 6 curricular processes for PA managers in 6 Latin American countries.

Cristina has worked on research and impact evaluation in projects related to sustainability for more than 10 years. She has a record of accomplishment developing, leading and contributing to the development of monitoring, evaluation and learning plans for project, programmes and organization-wide with NGOs, governments and foundations mostly in the UK and Spain, but also in Colombia.

Her main areas of expertise include research and theory-based impact evaluation using different methodologies including social return on investment (SROI). She has led complex evaluations where government and organisation’s objectives and programmes have changed over time and the results had to be consolidated at the end of several business plans. She has experience developing monitoring systems and knowledge learning tools, qualitative and quantitative analysis, developing surveys and interview guides, conducting high level interviews and facilitating stakeholder engagement. She has recently worked for the GCF developing knowledge management tools and guidelines to improve capture and usage of learnings from the Readiness Programme.

Cristina holds a MSc in Environmental Management and a University Diploma in Economics (bilingual Spanish-English), complemented with additional training on project management and evaluation methods, e.g., Process Tracing or Bayesian Updating.

María Sarabia is a gender and development specialist. In her almost twenty years of experience, she has worked as a strategic planner and director of cooperation programs in Latin America for various international organizations and bilateral development agencies, leading interventions related to the incidence on public policies and the strengthening of institutional capacities for mainstreaming the gender perspective.Since 2013, her professional career has focused on the monitoring and evaluation of programs and public policies applying sensitive approaches (human rights, gender and intercultural), and participatory methodologies as the basis of knowledge generation processes, in which she has participated or led. These experiences led María to be a good connoisseur of Latin America and the Caribbean, where she worked in various countries and organizations, both multilateral and civil society. Among the organizations that have trusted her are the European Commission, UNP, UN Women, ECLAC, OAS and AECID.María has a master in Gender and Development and in Evaluation of Public Programs and Policies by the Complutense University of Madrid, as well as advanced studies on gender and human rights by Carleton University (Canada).

Julie Greenwalt has over 10 years of experience in sustainable urban development, climate action in cities, nature-based solutions in cities, and climate change mitigation and adaptation in Africa. Previously, she worked as the Cites and Nature-based Solutions Lead at the Global Center on Adaptation and the Urban Environment Specialist at the Cities Alliance, where she managed a portfolio on climate change, environment and resilience in cities. She is currently the co-chair of the GEO for Cities and previously co-chaired the Organizing Committee of the Cities and Climate Change Science conference.

Prior to this she has worked with the Global Adaptation Network on knowledge exchange and adaptation; UN-Habitat in Afghanistan on urban environment, UN-Habitat/UNESCAP on a regional urban assessment of Asia and the Pacific, and UNEP on REDD+, terrestrial ecosystems and climate change. She started her career with UNDP working on biodiversity conservation and poverty reduction.

Julie has a master’s degree in Urban Planning from Columbia University (New York) and a bachelor’s degree in International Relations, Philosophy and Spanish from Tulane University (New Orleans) and is currently pursuing a PhD at the Copernicus Institute for Sustainable Development at Utrecht University.

Leisa Perch, SAEDI Consulting Barbados Inc’s Managing Director, Founder and Practice Manager, has more than 22 years in development; working for more than 20 years on environmental management issues, she has provided technical expertise at national, regional and international levels including research to inform policy and decision-making processes from a social and gender perspective.

She has worked across the English-speaking Caribbean, in Latin America (Brazil), Southern Africa (in Mozambique and South Africa as well as on Swaziland, Lesotho, Zambia, Madagascar), as well as Asia and the Pacific and Europe and the CIS, providing advisory services to development actors and governments. She is widely published, is an IPCC author and has a body of work on the green economy featuring the Arab States region and China. She has served as a Deputy Country Representative for UN Women, contributing to strategic planning, programme development and project oversight including taking the lead on the office’s post-disaster drought response in 2016 and related efforts on climate-resilient agriculture.

As a development consultant over the last 5 years, she has worked on various aspects of gender equality and women’s empowerment programming including gender analysis, GESI analysis, social and gender risk and impact assessments, gender assessments and gender action plans. She regularly conducts research on gender and environment, gender and natural resource management and gender and climate – the latter is the core of SAEDI’s work.  She is SAEDI Consulting’s Lead Trainer and is regularly invited to speak on gender and environment/gender and climate issues throughout the Caribbean and beyond. She is a member of the Caribbean Action Learning Group on the Green Economy coordinated by CANARI, Advancing Women in Development or AWID, the Society of Gender Professionals (SGP) as well as Regenerate Barbados and the UWI CERMES’ Gender in Fisheries Team.

Roberto is an Agricultural Engineer from the National University of Asunción, the oldest and most prestigious in Paraguay. He is pursuing a master’s degree in environmental management at San Carlos University. He specializes in University Teaching and has served as Professor at the Catholic University Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, Universidad San Carlos, and Universidad Nacional de Asunción, in the area of ​​Ecology, Botany, Climate Change, Extensive Crops and Tutor of Degree Thesis.

Roberto is an Independent Consultant, with more than 20 years of professional experience, working for International Cooperation Organizations such as UNDP, UNEP, FAO, WORLD BANK, CAF, JGREEN, JIRCAS, for the development of Programs, Projects and Specific Consultancies. His main areas of expertise include social & environmental safeguards & standards (Cancun, UNDP, UNEP, GCF/IFC), Safeguard Information Systems, climate change mitigation & adaptation, and country support on REDD+.

He has provided services for public organizations such as the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development, the National Forest Institute, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock. He holds wide experience working with financial entities, multinational companies, and regional companies related to agribusiness. Roberto owns a consulting company that provides Advisory services on Regulatory Affairs.

Marco Antonio Ortega has over 15 years of professional experience in the field of cooperation for development in Europe, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, specialized in Programme Design and Implementation, Knowledge and Information Resources Management in both international organizations and governmental institutions.
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His main areas of expertise include design, analysis, systematization and evaluation of projects and programs, elaboration of knowledge management strategies and knowledge products, institutional capacity development processes, support to South-South Cooperation and facilitation of international forums and meetings.

Marco Antonio holds a Master in Information and Knowledge Management in Organizations, a postgraduate course in Evaluation of Public Policies, and an advanced university degree in Business Administration. His academic background also includes courses such as “Management for Development Results”, “The Art of Communications” and “Result-Based Monitoring and Evaluation”.

Annie is an experienced professional specialized in disaster risk management, climate governance, and environmental studies. She is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Disaster Risk Management and Climate Governance at Structuralia Academy in Spain.

As an Independent Consultant since 2013, she has worked on diverse projects, including Technology Needs Assessment - Adaptation for the Government of Guyana, in partnership with UNEP and the Technical University of Denmark. She also played a key role in preparing the Project Implementation Plan for the Third National Communication to the UNFCCC and assessed Guyana's Protected Areas System subprojects.

Previously, Annie served as the Project Coordinator for the Second National Communication to the UNFCCC Project (2008-2012), overseeing various aspects of vulnerability assessment, greenhouse gas inventory, and mitigation assessment.

Her background includes roles as a Senior Researcher in the Governance Unit of the Office of the President and as a Senior Environment Officer at the Environment Protection Agency in Guyana.

Pitamber holds a Master of Arts in Sustainable International Development from Brandeis University and a Bachelor of Science in Environment Studies from the University of Guyana. She has also earned certifications in business administration and climate change vulnerability/adaptation assessment.

Contributing to publications and reports, Annie’s research paper focused on Photovoltaic Technology as an energy alternative for community development in Guyana. Additionally, she has authored Technology Needs Assessment reports for adaptation.

Proficient in English, her mother tongue, Annie’s extensive expertise and educational background reflect her commitment to environmental sustainability and climate change adaptation.

Social development specialist and evaluator with 15 years of experience in social and environmental related areas, working for non-profit organizations, consultancies, and multilateral institutions.

A former World Bank employee, Luis has had the chance to participate in challenging research and evaluation projects in different social-environmental domains, including social inclusion of vulnerable groups, climate change adaptation, labor market policies, and social impact assessment of infrastructure projects. His regional experience expands to 4 continents and 20 different countries, in assignments supported by the World Bank, UNDP, EuropeAid, KfW, AECID, GCF, etc.

Luis holds a Master´s degree in Environmental Economics and Development by the University of Oslo and a double Licentiate degree in Economics and Law by the Carlos III University of Madrid, having completed a number of specialization courses, including topics such as evaluation methods (George Washington University) and disaster risk management (World Bank).

Nicola Bird has worked in strengthening communities to enhance resiliency for nearly 20-years. Her accomplishments include developing, managing, contributing, and procuring projects funded by international donor agencies. She has worked with public-sector institutions, NGOs, academia, and civil society groups in Antigua and Barbuda and the Caribbean region.

Her areas of expertise include collaborative social accountability mechanisms, climate change mitigation and adaptation, sustainable livelihoods, and community capacity building. Nicola is also a proficient trainer and educator. She has spearheaded projects funded by organisations such as the World Bank, UNDP, European Union, Equality Fund, Governments of Canada, UN Women, Caribbean Biodiversity Fund, and Australia. Gender mainstreaming underpins many of the projects that Nicola develops and implements.

Nicola received a PhD from the University of Toronto, Canada and completed additional trainings in areas of such as collaborative social accountability and climate change mitigation.

Agustina works as an independent consultant collaborating with AAE in the elaboration and development of different projects. As an architect, she has worked in the formulation of multidisciplinary projects for more than 6 years. Her experience involves collaboration with academia, the private and the public sector, and international organizations. She has contributed to national academic projects and to international reports that aim to develop knowledge in relation to the adaptation of cities and infrastructure towards the impacts of climate change.

Her main areas of expertise include architecture, urban planning, sustainable development, green infrastructure, nature-based solutions and adaptation of urban areas to climate change.

Agustina is an Architect and holds a Master in Science (Research), with a specialization in Sustainable regional development. She has also completed additional training and studies in “Cities and Climate Change”, “Ecological cities” and “Green Infrastructure”.

Sonia has a wide experience working with UN agencies, specially UNICEF, UNFPA and UN Women, and NGO in in Latin America, Middle East, Africa and Spain.

Her main areas of expertise are women’s and children’s rights and the design and development of gender strategies and gender equality in public policies, regional programs and humanitarian actions. As an independent consultant, she has been working on women's rights-focused consultancies and gender-responsive evaluations. In this sense, she has acquired an intimate knowledge on gender issues through different experiences, applying a wide range of technical skills on data management, collection tools and analysing, but also designing gender-sensitive methodologies and delivering workshops.

Sonia is a Psychologist with a Master in Science in Gender and Development and has completed additional trainings in cooperation, evaluation and development.

For over 15 years, Mark Usher has worked on assessing policy frameworks and development programmes in Belize and the Caribbean region and drafting their associated legislations and regulations.

His main area of expertise involves conducting policy and institutional evaluations and assessing alignment with the legal and regulatory context and legal best practices and drafting new legislations and regulations or recommending pertinent amendments to existing legislations and regulations as required. He has extensive experience working with government and non-government entities on sustainable development programs, project analyses and institutional strengthening.

Mark holds a Bachelor of Laws Degree (Environmental Law included) from the University of the West Indies and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Secondary Education with a concentration in English from the University of Belize.

Soledad Moreiras has worked in international development projects as well as climate projects in planning & formulation, monitoring, evaluation and learning from over 12 years. She has a record of working in both the public sector and as a private freelance consultant with UN bodies, multilateral development banks, governments, NGOs, academia & civil society in Projects based in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Her main areas of expertise include monitoring, evaluation and evidence-based learning (MEL) working with Project funded by institutions such as IFAD, IDB, WB, Adaptation Fund, GCF, CAF, IKEA, DDE, SIDA. She specializes in the development of results frameworks, indicators, development of ToC, MEL plans, including guidance on Key Performance Indicators and participatory monitoring and evaluation tools. In these areas she has worked in project planning & formulation, implementation as MEL officer and in evaluations for climate projects. Her sectoral experience includes climate change adaptation, rural development, and public-private partnerships in agriculture, including landscapes approaches and nature-based solutions.​

Soledad holds and a master’s degree in Development and International Aid from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. She further specialized in Public Policies and Project Evaluation, and Applied Economics with a focus on Environmental Economics, and Climate Change.

Social specialist with more than 20 years of experience working with companies, communities, and financial institutions to identify and manage social and human rights risks in public and private projects throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. He has worked extensively assisting companies and public and private projects to meet and exceed international standards in social performance and human rights, developing effective on-the-ground strategies for reducing risk and enhancing social value.

His main areas of expertise include environmental and social assessments, ESG compliance reviews, stakeholder engagement, human rights, and the implementation of international best practices in the management of social risks & impacts for projects funded by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and other financial institutions.

Mario is a Sociologist with postgraduate studies in Political Science and Administration, having completed additional training in environmental and social standards.

Harlem holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies with a major in Public Policy (Middlebury College, USA), a Master's degree in Economics with a minor in Public Policy Management (Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos) and participated in the Extractive Industries and Sustainable Development extension course (Columbia University), among others.

She has work experience in the public and non-governmental sector, especially at environmental management, forest management and climate change, and strengthening the gender and intercultural approach in the implementation of environmental public policies at the subnational and national level. As a consultant on climate change, forests and indigenous peoples' rights, she has contributed to the National Organization of Andean and Amazonian Indigenous Women of Peru (ONAMIAP) with the implementation and design of projects for the integrated management of climate change and the implementation of REDD+ in the Peruvian Amazon, in addition to providing technical advice on the prior consultation process of the Regulations of the Framework Law on Climate Change. She has been technical advisor in the development of participatory monitoring instruments for multi-stakeholder spaces for landscape governance in the Amazon with the International Center for Forestry Research (CIFOR).

After a year working with the Ministry of Environment of Peru as a consultant for UN REDD+, Harlem studied an MSc in Climate Change, Development and Public Policy at the University of Sussex (UK). Currently, Harlem is a consultant on issues related to social safeguards in projects related to climate change and forest management.

María Dolores Almeida has over 20 years of experience in economics, public finance, climate change financial, decentralization, gender – sensitive budgeting, and project evaluation in different countries in Latin America. She has also relevant experience in development programs, technical assistance, investigation, capacity building and resource mobilization strategies on different thematic areas.

María Dolores has worked for public institutions (national and subnational) and for international technical organizations such as the Inter-American Development Bank, World Bank, German Technical Cooperation, UN Women, UNICEF, UN Environmental and the Latin American Economic Commission (ECLAC).
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María Dolores is an Economist graduated from the National University of Tucumán (Argentina) and holds a Master Degree in Economy with emphasis on Decentralization and Local Development and with a Gender-Sensitive Budgeting specialization.

Patrick holds a master’s degree in environmental security and Global Warming. He is the National Coordinator of the Dynamics of Indigenous Peoples Groups (DGPA, for its French acronym).

Expert in the defense of the rights and culture of indigenous peoples at the national, regional, and international levels. Laureate of the Equator Prize in 2025 with the DGPA, member of the Board of Directors of RRI (Rights and Resources Initiative), Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Network of Indigenous and Local Peoples for the Sustainable Management of Forest Ecosystems of the DRC (REPALEF-RDC/REPALEAC) and co-president of the DGM Mechanism in the DRC.

Néné is an environmental journalist who also works for the national radio and television network of the Democratic Republic of Congo (RTNC). Her work focuses on rural community development programs and the protection of the rights of Congo's disadvantaged indigenous peoples, such as Pygmies, Kitawalists, women and youth. Born on December 25, 1975 in Waka, Equateur Province, she attended primary school at Bondeko High School and then at Lontsing'esengo High School, where she obtained a state diploma, and later at the University of Louvain, where she graduated with a degree in Communication Sciences. She is passionate about the protection of the environment and its ecosystems, and has completed several training courses in this field.

Her numerous trips abroad and within the country to raise awareness about local communities and indigenous peoples in the DRC allowed her to gain extensive experience in the field of researching for better governmental frameworks for natural resources.

During her work at RTNC, she worked in the field on development projects aimed at raising awareness, accompanying local Congolese communities to learn about their rights and helping them voice their concerns about the proper use of resources that affect their livelihoods.

Néné Mainzana grew up listening to forest stories of her parents and grandparents. She vividly remembers trips to the forest with her father, her grandmother discovering its incredible sights and sounds for the first time and seeing the indigenous villages with their huts built from materials extracted from the surrounding forest. In her career as a journalist, land rights and the impact of unsustainable development on rural communities and biodiversity have been recurring themes. Frustrated by the lack of transparency and information from government sources, Néné became involved with civil society groups advocating for the land rights of rural and indigenous people.

In response to various environmental issues, Néné participated in the creation of several civil society environmental structures such as GTCRR, CFLEDD, CTIDD, RCEN, RENO, RECEAC, CALF and many others. Today, he continues to fight for land management reform, agrarian reform and forestry reform in the new laws.

Priscilla Miranda has over ten years of experience in the field of natural resource management, with special focus on the land-use sector, forests and integrated water management. She has over 8 years of experience in REDD+ in Suriname. She has worked in various national and international projects so has strong experience in managing professional teams, as well as coordinating expeditions and leading processes. Also has strong experience in engagement with a broad range of stakeholders, from high level policy makers to local communities, including civil society, private sector and government institutes.

She has worked as member of the Conservation International Suriname team, the early stages of capacity building, data gathering and institutional strengthening for REDD+. As part of the Government of Suriname, she was partly responsible for the establishment of the National Forest Monitoring System, as well as background studies like the ‘Multi-Perspective Analysis of Drivers of Deforestation, Forest Degradation and Barriers to REDD+ Activities’ and ‘Best Estimates for Emission Factors and Carbon Stocks for Suriname’ as part of the preparation for the Forest Reference Emission Level for Suriname. As part of the consultancy team, she was partly responsible for the development of the Vision and National REDD+ Strategy for Suriname, as well as Suriname’s Nationally Determined Contributions. She currently works as director of Spiral Strategic Consulting, specialized in providing local context acting as national counterpart and coordinator for international firms and projects.
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Priscilla is a bachelor and master in System Engineering, Policy Analysis and Management.

Liliana Betancourt Fernández has worked as consultant for more than 20 years in the conservational of land, coastal and marine resources of Hispaniola Island. She has participated in the elaboration, implementation and leadership of multiple projects with national and international NGOs, government institutions, academics or cooperation agencies, funded by GIZ, Oxfam Quebec, USAID and UNDP.

Liliana has extensive experience in environmental management, coordination and execution of environmental impact studies, elaboration of environmental characterizations and agendas, management and conservation of coastal and marine ecosystems, studies of ecosystem-based zoning, integrated management plans, sustainable ecotourism alternatives and development of national biodiversity inventories.

Liliana has a doctorate in Biology from the University of La Coruña, Spain, a university diploma in Biology from the University of La Habana, Cuba, and several international trainings in environmental impact assessment, strategic impact assessment and marine bio-geographic data management.

In 1994, María Laura García graduated as an Agricultural Engineer under the 1989 Plan at UDELAR in Montevideo, Uruguay. She worked as an independent technician in specialized consultancy for native forests and has been working for almost 30 years in forest management and conservation, both in the private sector and the public sector. She has also been contracted for large-scale projects, such as the National Forest Inventory (FAO), REDD+ (World Bank), the Río Negro Initiative, Consolidating Biodiversity and Land Conservation Policies as Pillars of Sustainable Development (GEF), Territorial Planning and Sustainable Development (DINOT-ICL). Currently, she works as a technician in the restoration of degraded ecosystems. Additionally, she participates in educating others about knowledge and conservation of native forests.

In addition to her academic training, Laura completed courses in computer science, including Excel, Word, PowerPoint, AutoCAD, and QGIS. She attended other specialized courses in ecology and forest conservation and received training in the Opportunities Assessment Methodology for Restoration (ROAM) and Geographic Information Systems applied to afforestation.

Laura García is passionate about her work in native forests and is committed to the protection and conservation of natural resources. From her undergraduate studies to subsequent lifelong learning courses, biodiversity conservation has been a central and fundamental theme in her academic formation, with an emphasis on protected areas.

Maria Protz, a Jamaican-Canadian, is a Communication for Development (C4D) and Gender/Diversity & Inclusion specialist with over 25 years of experience in the CARICOM region.

She focuses on climate change adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR) in sectors like agriculture, energy, water, health, and the environment. Currently, she is involved in various projects in the Caribbean, including being a gender & communication specialist for the UNDP EnGenDER Pilot Project, working on the Formative Evaluation of the CDEMA project, and revising the Antigua and Barbuda Disaster Management Plan. She is also part of the INSUCO consulting team for the Sustainable Public Transport System project and will join the E.Co. Consulting team for the ADAPT Jamaica project. In 2022, she developed a Guidance Framework Document for behavior change communication strategies and led a baseline survey for the French Red Cross. Dr. Protz has contributed to initiatives such as developing a gender mainstreaming protocol for Jamaica's DRR and CC planning, creating a communication strategy for the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre, and conducting KAP studies for the Community Disaster Risk Reduction Fund. She has also designed communication strategies for the Blue Economy and climate change investments.

She actively serves as a board member of the White River Marine Sanctuary.

Nancy Zapata has worked for more than 20 years, serving public institutions such as the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Environment, the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, International Cooperation Organizations and Academic Institutions.

Nancy is an expert in the formulation and evaluation of public investment projects, development of methodologies for the previous and post evaluation of investment projects, integration of disaster risk management and adaptation to climate change, instruments of development planning and investments. She has supported the development of different conceptual and methodological instruments related to investments in biological diversity.

Nancy is an Economist Engineer with academic experience in Peru and other Latin American countries, mainly in investment projects, disaster risk management and adaptation to climate change.

Gabriela is a lawyer specializing in human rights and environmental governance, she holds a master's degree in Land Management and Local Development from the Paris-Saclay University and a master’s degree in international human Rights Law from the University of Nantes. She completed her undergraduate studies in law and international relations at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito. Over the past 10 years, she has worked in the field of human rights, nature conservation, human mobility, gender, and climate justice in projects with local populations in vulnerable situations and indigenous peoples, for government, civil society and the academy in Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe.

She served as a litigator before the Inter-American Human Rights handling cases related to the environmental and social impacts of business activities and megaprojects in the region. In 2021, she led the creation of the Forest and Climate Change Observatory, which brings together indigenous peoples' organizations and civil society to monitor government commitments in terms of public policies, funding, and legislation on forests in the Amazon (REDD +). Through her interdisciplinary profile, she has participated in training programs on the Green Climate Fund as a specialist in human rights and safeguards in AAE and has developed analyzes on social and environmental safeguards for international organizations' projects in francophone Africa and Latin America.

Lydia Kanyembo, of Congolese nationality, joined the firm AAE consulting as an associate consultant for environmental and social safeguards issues. She is based in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.

She has over 6 years of experience in environmental and social impact assessments, community health and safety, security and the environment (HSE), land acquisition and involuntary resettlement issues, indigenous peoples , labor management procedures, climate change, grievance mechanism and GBV issues. She has been working on the supervision of projects financed by the World Bank as a consultant since 2017 and covers different countries (DRC, RoC, CAR and Burundi).

Before joining the World Bank Group, Lydia worked with the Congolese agency for major works in the DRC as an environmental intern and has experience with the development of environmental management tools with national firms and also expertise such as Panelist in the recruitment interviews of specialists in environment and social development of the management units of projects financed by the World Bank. Lydia holds a license (Bac + 5) in environmental sciences from the University of Kinshasa where she is a teaching assistant in the same department and currently registered at CEDDA-DAKAR for a master's degree (Bac + 7 ) in environmental assessment and project management.

In her new role, Lydia will be an associate consultant on behalf of the firm AAE consulting as an expert in environmental and social risk management, environmental and social assessment of projects and programs funded by donors, environmental audit and HSE .

Alejandro has been working worldwide for international organizations from the environmental and humanitarian sectors, for over 20 years. Throughout his career, he has been engaged with networks of sustainable development practitioners, assisting civil society organizations, local governments and institutions, in the formulation of project proposals and the implementation of adaptation activities.</p>
As a skilled workshop facilitator, he enjoys “translating” complex technical concepts into simple every-day terms and designing capacity building and technical assistance programmes. Besides, he is also keen in working with stakeholders in the formulation of adaptation initiatives for coastal, urban, and rural environments, empowering civil society and promoting synergies for learning on adaptation.</p>
<p> Though his work, Alejandro has accumulated a broad experience in assessing climate risk using a diversity of tools and developing Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) options to enhance climate resilience. Furthermore, he has recently published a couple of handbooks on EbA and a Guideline for integrating EbA into National Adaptation Plans along with UNEP.
Originally a biologist focused on tropical ecology and natural history, Alejandro holds a master’s degree (MSc) in Geography from the University of Costa Rica, as well as a title as a Specialist in Environmental Impact Assessment from the University of Valladolid, Spain. Currently he's an active member of IUCN's Commission on Ecosystems Management (CEM) for Mesoamerica and works as an international consultant on EbA.

Patrick Chesney has worked in agricultural research, biodiversity conservation, and environmental sustainability in Guyana and the Caribbean for more than 25 years. He has developed, implemented and/or supervised the implementation of projects with governments, UN bodies, NGOs, academia and civil society in Guyana, other countries of the Guiana Shield (Brazil, Colombia, Suriname and French Guiana), and the English-speaking Caribbean.

His main areas of expertise include tropical agroforestry systems, organic agriculture, horticulture, biodiversity conservation, protected areas, reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+), indigenous land titling and design of participatory conflict resolution mechanisms, the role of biodiversity and ecosystems in climate change mitigation and adaptation, and support to treaty negotiation for the conservation of marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ).​

Patrick holds a PhD in Tropical Agroforestry, a MSc in Horticulture, a BSc in Agriculture and has completed additional trainings, e.g. in UN mandatory courses, “Natural Resources for Sustainable Development”, “Leadership and Management Development (UNDP)”, “biodiversity conservation planning”, “plant genetic resources management”, and “green economy”. He was a recipient of two research grants for young researchers from the International Foundation for Science and chair/director of governing boards for state agriculture, protected areas and climate change in Guyana and the Caribbean.

Edgar Gutiérrez has represented the country in United Nations organizations and in regional Ministerial forums. He directed the first two reports on the state of the environment in Latin America and the Caribbean for the United Nations Environment Program, the first environmental report for Central America, the environmental data portal for Latin America and the Caribbean, among many other activities. In addition, he directed the National Environmental Strategy, a project of the MINAE-IDB, for Costa Rica in 2005. Currently, he is the Director of the School of Statistics of this University and the Coordinator of the Cantonal Human Development Atlas, a joint project with UNDP.

Professor at the University of Costa Rica; co-founder of the State of the Nation Project of the National Council of Rectors in Costa Rica; founder of the Development Observatory at the University of Costa Rica in 1997 and its Director until 2005. He has more than 30 publications in national and international scientific magazines and a book on statistical methods.

His main research areas of interest are sustainable development; the development of indicators and indices; human security; environmental change and public higher education.

Lisa Best has over nine years of experience in the fields of sustainable management of forests predominantly in the NGO sector in Suriname, coordinating projects and collaborating with indigenous and tribal communities, community organizations, national- and international organizations.

She specializes in ecosystem services, REDD+ and climate change, working on conducting social-ecological and participatory research, capacity strengthening and science-policy communication. Starting out with REDD+, she has worked on various components of REDD+ Readiness activities in Suriname, such as preparing the Readiness Preparation Proposal, capacity building of indigenous and tribal communities, and contributed to development of the REDD+ Strategy. Most recently, she spearheaded a twinning project on tropical urban forests, trees and ecosystem services. She currently works on developing and implementing projects for enhancing climate smart land use practices.

​Lisa holds a Master in Environmental Systems Analysis from Wageningen University and Research and is currently a PhD candidate exploring forest-water-people interlinkages through serious games.

Rafael Mendoza has extensive experience as an academic and practitioner in the Andean Amazon region, particularly in Peru and Ecuador. He has worked for The Coordinator Body of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin – COICA, The Nature Conservancy, and governmental institutions in the region. Rafael is also a resident lecturer at the School for Field Studies – SFS Amazon, and is currently teaching at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Peru – PUCP.

His experience and academic interests cover the South America highlands and lowlands and focus on three main themes: the intersection between conservation and development, land struggles in the Amazon basin, and the politics of climate change, REDD+, and indigenous federations. He has also collaborated as a consultant for COICA and WWF in designing community plans to access climate change funds.
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Rafael holds a PhD in Anthropology at the University of Florida, and a Master’s degree in Socio Environmental Studies by FLACSO Ecuador.

Jerónimo is an economist with experience in macroeconomic analysis, impact evaluation of public policies and social programmes, and technical assistance.

As a research assistant at the Carlos III University in Madrid, he researched on topics such as agriculture, land use and the housing market. Later he worked for a public sector consulting firm in Madrid, taking part in technical assistance projects for various public institutions from Spain. As an independent consultant, he has worked with AAE in projects for the Green Climate Fund and the German Institute for Development Evaluation. He also continues to work as a consultant for the public sector and for the civic sector organizations.

Jerónimo holds two bachelor’s Degrees, in Economics and in Law, and a M.Sc. in Economic Development and Growth, with a focus on quantitative methods and applied research.

Mireille Feudjio,(Ph.D). has over 10 years of experience as a research scientist, where she is interested in managing trade-offs between development and economy for the sustainable management of resources within landscapes. Previously she served as Social and environmental Senior Specialist at REDD+ Technical Secretariat of Cameroon’s MINEPDED; Assistant Research Scientist in ICRAF; and Social & Environmental Lead for PIDMA – the Agricultural Investment Market Development Project that is a joint initiative of the Cameroon Government and World Bank.

Since the last three years, she has also incorporated modeling with Machine learning/Artificial intelligence techniques to enhance and add an exciting dimension to her work.

On a personal note, she is not particularly fond of traditional sports, but she absolutely loves expressing herself through dancing.

Harriet Gibson has 10 years’ experience working in international development in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. She currently focuses on environmental and social impact projects collaborating with a wide array of organisations from civil society (grassroots and INGOs) to governments (USAID, UK F(C)DO, DFID), UN bodies (UNRWA, UNDP, UNHCR) and the EU.

Her main areas of expertise include monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL), knowledge management (KM), research and analysis, human rights and fragile and conflict affected states (FCAS). She also has extensive experience supporting and evaluating Funds having worked for the Independent Commission on Aid Impact (ICAI) in the UK to review both the Global Challenges Research Fund and the Newton Fund. Harriet also provides MEL and KM consultancy services to the Green Climate Fund’s Readiness Programme.

​Harriet holds a master’s degree in Human Rights Policy and Practice, a bachelor’s degree in Spanish, Arabic and Middle Eastern Politics, and has completed additional training in Impact Measurement and Management (IMM).

Pablo has worked in financial management and controlling for over 15 years in different countries such as Nicaragua, Panama and Spain, in various environments and industries, both in the private and public sectors. He has worked for UNDP, UNHCR, UNOPS, and OHCHR.

His main areas of expertise include financial analysis, development and implementation of KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), creation and implementation of financial reports, financial control, financial modeling, and internal auditing.

Pablo holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Barcelona, a Master's degree in Economic-Financial Management, a Master's degree in Decentralized International Cooperation within the framework of the United Nations, a postgraduate degree from IESE (Executive Development Program), and a postgraduate degree in ESADE (Advanced Management Control).

Mario Zenteno has worked in Economic Rural Development and Natural Resource Management for more than 20 years. He has a record of accomplishment developing, leading and contributing to projects evaluation, implementation and management with UNDP, IFAD, UE, WB, governments, NGOs, academia & civil society in Africa, Asia & Latin America.

His main areas of expertise in projects and programmes formulation as well evaluation applying environmental safeguards & standards (UNDP, GEF, UE, WB), risk assessment, Strategic Environmental and Social Assessment (SESA), Environmental Impact assessment (EIA), Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) and Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA). Main focus on sectors as Agriculture, Water, Energy, Government and PPP. ​

Mario holds a PhD in Natural Resource Management from Utrecht University, a Master’s degree in Agricultural Economics and a University Diploma in Agronomy & has completed additional trainings, e.g. in “Data Analysis”, “Projects Impact Evaluation” and “Undergraduate Education”.

Degree in International Relations, Specialist in International Cooperation for Development and in Evaluation of results and impacts of organizations and public programs.

Professional with more than 20 years of experience in consulting activities regarding the formulation, monitoring and evaluation of projects and programs with a gender and social inclusion perspective, on issues such as: climate change, environmental and social safeguards, education, indigenous peoples, gender and socio-productive inclusion.

She has worked for national and international organizations such as UNDP, UN WOMEN, UNICEF, FAO, EU, OEI, IDB, IFAD, CAF, Green Climate Fund, Adaptation Fund, GEF, AMBIENS, FACTOR, Ministry of Agroindustry, Government of the Province of Buenos Aires, Government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Municipality of Tigre, UICN-South, UNSAM, UBA, among others.

Fernando Pérez Chanduví has 20 years of professional experience leading sustainable development initiatives, natural resource management, ecotourism, environmental management, conservation mechanisms, climate change, and collective rights advocacy in Peru and Latin America. He has extensive experience in biodiversity management and conservation, forestry research, economic feasibility studies, working with indigenous organizations and Andean-Amazonian communities in areas of high biological diversity. He has played a key role in the implementation of various programs and projects with national and international NGOs, government institutions, academic institutions, and cooperating agencies funded by the Government of Spain, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, UNESCO, United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Global Environment Facility (GEF), Green Climate Fund (GCF), the Dutch Postal Code Lottery, Legacy Landscapes Fund (LLF), among others.

Fernando is a forest engineer from the National Agrarian University La Molina (Lima, Peru) and holds a master's degree in tourism from the MIB School of Management (Trieste, Italy). Additionally, he has completed international postgraduate courses in Ecotourism Planning and Management in Tropical and Subtropical Areas of the Latin American Region at the Okinawa International Center, JICA (Okinawa, Japan), and Ecosystem Management, Biodiversity Conservation, and Ecosystem Services at the Technical University of Dresden, CIPSEM (Dresden, Germany)

Juan Olivera has worked involved in the conservation of Uruguay's forests within the framework of the REDD+ Project, for 4 years in its Preparation stage, while performing technical support tasks for the National Forest Registry of the General Forestry Directorate. He is currently working as an expert remote sensing consultant for the Environmental Information Division of the Ministry of the Environment (Uruguay).

His main areas of work include forest management, remote sensing of the environment, biodiversity studies, mitigation and adaptation to climate change. He is currently part of the "Initiative for the Río Negro" project, with the main objective of monitoring riparian areas of watercourses buffer zones in the Río Negro basin, for the protection of water quality, using remote sensing tools. In addition to his previous work experiences in the agricultural sector, with his work in REDD+ and in the Ministry of Environment, he has contributed to the fulfillment of important achievements for the country, mainly in the publication of various cartographies of natural resources at a national level.

Juan has a university degree in agronomy engineering, specializing in forestry, and has completed several additional studies related to geographic information systems and remote sensing. He is currently completing a Master's Degree in Environmental Sciences at the Faculty of Sciences (UdelaR), with the thesis project entitled: "Remote detection of the invasion of Ligustrum lucidum in Uruguay´s native forests".

Mariela Silvera Colman has been working in the chemical industry for more than 15 years in the area of industrial safety. She has experience in construction, cement, assembly and phyto-sanitary industries.
Her main areas of expertise include the development, certification and auditing of occupational risk management systems of organizations, industrial fire protection projects, globally harmonized systems (GHS), labeling and safety data sheets.
Mariela has a diploma in Technological Prevention and of Technical Engineer in Fire Protection Projects. She has completed additional trainings in planning for the development of competencies and in evaluation of competences. She is also a lecturer of Occupational Health and Safety at the Education Training Council and in the Professional Technical Education Council of Uruguay.

Silvia Chalukian has developed in the field of biological conservation and ecology, planning and management of protected areas, teaching and academic administration – with experience in agronomic engineering programs specialized in natural resources management and conservation, and postgraduate courses in biological conservation.

She has experience in research, consultancy and publications in biodiversity management and conservation, use and conservation of medicinal plants, ecology of subtropical forests, ecology of ungulated mammals and inventories of vegetation and fauna. Silvia has worked in several countries in the field of biodiversity management and conservation policies, and training human resources.

Silvia has a degree in Ecology and Conservation of Renewable Natural Resources (Argentina), a master in Wildlife Management (Costa Rica) and an international diploma y Medicinal Plants (Mexico).

Rafael Martins has worked in sustainable development, climate change and disaster risk reduction for 15 years. He has been involved and implemented programmes and projects with UN agencies and funds, governments, NGOs, academia and civil society in Latin America, Africa and Asia.

His main areas of expertise include climate change mitigation and adaptation policies, National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), climate finance, disaster risk management, climate mainstreaming, Ecosystem based-Adaptation (EbA) and country support on UNFCCC commitments, REDD+, Adaptation Funds, GEF, and GCF Readiness.

Rafael holds a MSc in Sustainable Development and Climate Change, MA in Public Administration, a University Diploma in Social Economy and Local Development and has completed additional trainings in Project Management, Data for Effectiveness for Policy Making, Biodiversity Finance, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Human Rights, Gender and Environment (Biodiversity, Climate Change, Land Degradation), Theory of Change, Results-based Management, M&E and Urban Responses to Climate Change.

Laura Abram Alberdi is an environmental specialist with more than 12 years of experience working in climate change projects and assessing environmental and social performance of private and public projects in Latin America. Her experience in a global environmental consulting firm provided her with expertise in identifying environmental and social risks and definition of mitigation measures, mostly focused on the industry sector, and gave her the opportunity to assess on sustainability standards of CDM projects.

Six years in the public sector, notably in a national entity accredited to the GCF, provided her with the experience of supervising E&S safeguards implementation in rural development and infrastructure projects and in adaptation to climate change projects. Funding bodies include the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, CAF, FONPLATA, the Adaptation Fund and the Green Climate Fund. As a consultant, she has among others supported CABEI and CAF in the formulation of approved funding proposals for the GCF and the AF, which included the preparation of their respective E&S frameworks.
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Laura holds a Master in Advanced Urban Studies, a University Diploma in Management of Rural Developments and has completed additional trainings in energy efficiency and catastrophe treatment in Latin American areas, among others.

Doris Cordero has worked for more than 20 years in forests, ecosystem services and climate change in Latin America, both for international organizations and for national and local governments and organizations. She has contributed to the design, implementation and evaluation of projects for agencies of the United Nations, IUCN, GIZ, governments and non-governmental organizations.

Her areas of expertise include ecosystem services, biodiversity, forests, mitigation (REDD+) and ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA), financial mechanisms for conservation, nature-based solutions and integrated water resource management.

Doris is a Forest Engineer from the Technological Institute of Costa Rica and holds a bachelor degree of Science in Forestry from the National University of Costa Rica. She has also completed additional training in environmental financing, climate change and ecosystem services. She is a member of the IUCN Ecosystem Management Commission.