ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION PATIENT CARE SCIENCE SAN FRANCISCO
BAY AREA
|
Guillermo Castilleja is the chief program officer for the Foundation's Environmental Conservation Program, which includes the Andes Amazon Initiative, the Conservation International commitment, the Marine Conservation Initiative, and the Wild Salmon Ecosystems Initiative. Most recently, Guillermo oversaw and coordinated World Wildlife Fund’s global conservation efforts, leading the development of global priorities for the network, overseeing implementation of its activities, and monitoring progress and assessing impact. Guillermo came to WWF International in 2006 after serving as senior vice president for field programs for World Wildlife Fund in Washington, DC. Prior to that, he was the vice president and regional director for the Latin America and Caribbean Secretariat. He was the representative of WWF in Mexico for six years, where he led the development of one of the largest field programs in the WWF network. Before joining WWF in 1991, he worked for the World Bank and the National Wildlife Federation. Guillermo graduated from the National University of Mexico (1980), and received a master’s degree in forestry (1983), a master’s degree in philosophy (1985), and a doctorate in forest ecology (1991) from Yale University. Sunila Rao is the administrative assistant to the foundation’s chief program officer of the Environmental Conservation Program. She joined the foundation after 10 years in the venture capital industry where she provided administrative support to companies that invested in start-ups focused on high-tech, biomedical and online consumer sites. Prior to this she worked in marketing communications for various firms in the software, financial and environmental science industries. Her background includes writing and editing marketing material, event planning and managing proposals for restoring former military bases on the EPA Superfund list. Sunila earned a B.A in journalism and the natural sciences from Baylor University. Jennifer Rea is a program associate for the Foundation’s Environmental Conservation Program. Jennifer was previously a program assistant for the Science Program. Prior to joining the Foundation, Jennifer worked at the Atomic Heritage Foundation, a non-profit organization in Washington, D.C., dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of the Manhattan Project and the Atomic Age. She also served as an assistant for the Office of the Vice President and Secretary of Princeton University. Jennifer received an A.B. in History of Science and a minor in Visual Arts from Princeton University. Dan Winterson is a program officer in the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation’s Environmental Conservation Program, with a focus on conservation finance. Dan had previously served as a program director managing the Foundation’s commitment to Conservation International and the Foundation’s support to Forever Costa Rica. Prior to joining the Foundation, Dan worked at McKinsey & Company where he led client engagements in strategy, organization, and performance management. Dan also worked as vice president at Teach For America where he led the organization’s revenue-generation efforts and served on the governing management team. Dan received his A.B. from Harvard University, where he was a Harvard National Scholar, and his M.B.A. from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, where he was an Arjay Miller Scholar. Heather Wright is a program officer for the Environmental Conservation Program. Prior to joining the Foundation, Heather was a manager with Conservation International's Rapid Assessment Program where, in collaboration with partner organizations and scientists, she traveled to global hotspots to conduct rapid biological inventories and published the survey results and conservation recommendations. Heather's long-standing commitment to ecology and conservation science has led to her involvement with a variety of conservation-related organizations including the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), Chicago Field Museum/CIMA, League of Conservation Voters and Friends of the Osa. She has conducted extensive field research in Central and South America, West Africa and French Polynesia. Heather received a B.S. in Biology and a Minor in Scandinavian Literature from UCLA and her Masters degree in Environmental Science from Yale University's School of Forestry & Environmental Studies with a focus on tropical ecosystems. Andes-Amazon Initiative Avecita Chicchón is the program director for the Andes-Amazon Initiative. Avecita joins the Foundation with over 25 years of experience in natural resource use, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable development in Latin America, with a particular emphasis on the Amazon. Avecita served as the executive director of the Latin America and Caribbean Program at Wildlife Conservation Society from 2003-2010, where she managed conservation programs in 15 countries that led to significant on-the-ground conservation achievements. Prior to her time at WCS, Avecita was a program officer at the MacArthur Foundation, responsible for grantmaking on conservation and sustainable development issues in Latin America and the Caribbean, and she was the Peru program director at Conservation International. She received her Ph.D. in Social Anthropology with an emphasis on natural resource use and conservation issues from the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL. Paulina Arroyo is a program officer for the Andes-Amazon Initiative. Born in Ecuador and raised in Alexandria, Virginia, Paulina went to Ecuador for a “brief” period to do field work after graduating from college. Seventeen years later, she had dedicated her professional attention to working on conservation and development issues in Ecuador, focusing on local community participation in park and natural resource management. For several years she worked with grassroots Ecuadorian environmental NGOs, leading community conservation projects in the Andes and Amazon regions. Her strong commitment to participatory conservation led her to The Nature Conservancy, where she expanded her geographic scope to Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, and Venezuela. Recently, she served as the Conservancy’s Andes Amazon program manager, and as director of the Indigenous and Communal Lands Global Strategy. Paulina holds a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Waterloo, Canada and has carried out post-graduate studies in gender and natural resource management at FLACSO-Ecuador. She is bilingual in English and Spanish, and also speaks Portuguese. Marina Campos is a program officer for the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation's Andes-Amazon Initiative. She has been working in rainforest conservation, especially in the Amazon region, since 1989. Prior to joining the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, she was the program director of Natural Resource Management and Climate Change at Rainforest Foundation US, which she joined in 2010. In this position Marina worked in partnership with indigenous groups and local grassroots organizations in Central and South America to secure rights to their lands, support the implementation of natural management plans and influence policies to protect their resources. She also has served as state coordinator on climate change for the state of Amazonas in Brazil, where she oversaw the design and implementation of state climate change legislation including the first Brazilian payment-for-environmental-services program and the creation of Amazonian first Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation project in the Juma Reserve. Marina has served as a visiting lecturer at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, where she coordinated a Strategies for Tropical Conservation seminar. Born and raised in Brazil, she received a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Biology (Botany) from University of São Paulo-Brazil and a Ph.D. in Social Ecology from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Leo is a program officer for the Andes-Amazon Initiative. Before joining the Foundation, Leo worked with the Conservation Strategy Fund, establishing and consolidating their first field programs in Latin America by leading international technical teams and strengthening institutional relationships. As lead conservation economics analyst, mentor, and instructor, Leo researched the economics of land use, protected areas, sustainable businesses, biodiversity, and infrastructure development, and he has trained nearly 500 conservation practitioners, researchers, and governmental officials in a multitude of countries. Leo was also an invited lecturer of the National Institute of Amazonian Research, and has lectured several MBA courses in Brazil, stimulating business professionals to assess corporate sustainability practices. He was a member of the international team of experts of The Economics of Ecosystems & Biodiversity for Regional and Local Policy, and has extensive field experience as a researcher in the Mamirauá and Amanã Sustainable Development Reserves in the Brazilian Amazon and as a resident and biologist in the Pantanal Wetlands. He has written numerous publications and helped guide policy decisions, from reducing deforestation to increasing the economic value attributed to ecosystems. Leo has a M.Sc. in conservation biology from the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology at the University of Kent, UK, a M.B.A. with a focus on strategic business management from UNA University, Brazil, and a B.Sc. in biological sciences from UFRGS, Brazil. He is a native of Brazil and is fluent in Portuguese and Spanish. Chris is a program associate for the Andes-Amazon Initiative. Prior to joining the foundation, Chris spent several months as an intern with Instituto Floresta Viva (IFV), an NGO in the Brazilian state of Bahia, dedicated to conservation and reforestation of the Atlantic Forest in southern Bahia. At IFV, Chris produced a Payment for Environmental Services (PES) guidebook in Portuguese explaining the concept of PES, its potential in southern Bahia, and the steps needed to design and implement a PES mechanism. Chris graduated summa cum laude in Environmental Studies from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He has travelled extensively in South America and in the Amazon, and speaks Portuguese and Spanish. Kirsten Silvius is a program officer for the Andes-Amazon Initiative. Born and raised in Venezuela, Kirsten completed her higher education in the United States. She received a B.A. degree in Biology and Romance Languages from Bowdoin College, Maine, and both M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the Zoology Department at the University of Florida. Trained as a terrestrial ecologist, her research has focused both on plant-animal interactions and on wildlife use and management by local and indigenous peoples. She has studied a diversity of animal species in Venezuela and Brazil, including agoutis, parrots, peccaries, beetles, and parasitic wasps, and has worked on wildlife management issues with the Xavante, Yanomami and Macuxi people of Brazil and Guyana. Prior to joining the Foundation, Kirsten was a research specialist at the University of Hawaii at Manoa's Environmental Center, where she gained experience with watershed management issues and environmental impact regulations. Earlier she held adjunct professor positions and taught ecology courses at Florida Atlantic University and the State University of New York's School of Environmental Science and Forestry. Marine Conservation Initiative Barry Gold is the program director for the Marine Conservation Initiative.
Barry comes to the Foundation with many years of experience in science, conservation, and philanthropy. Before joining the Foundation, he managed the David and Lucile Packard Foundation’s efforts to develop a scientifically credible framework for ecosystem-based management of coastal-marine systems. He also directed their work to more effectively link science with policy and decision-making. Prior to that, Barry was chief of the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center where he led an effort to understand and restore the Colorado River ecosystem throughout the Grand Canyon. Barry has extensive experience working at the interface of environmental science and policy and has held senior positions at the Department of the Interior, the US House of Representatives, the National Academy of Sciences, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Barry received a B.S. from the University of Miami, an M.S. from the University of Connecticut, an M.A. from George Washington University and a D.Sc. from Washington University.
Press ReleasesThe American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Announce 2006 Fellow Meaghan Calcari is a program officer in the Marine Conservation Initiative. Before joining the Foundation, Meaghan was an evaluator for Conservation International where she evaluated community-based conservation and development projects in the Philippines and Indonesia. Meaghan also taught environmental education at the St. Louis Science Center in Missouri, and in middle schools in Illinois, Indiana, and North Carolina. She currently facilitates a marine conservation funder working group in the Consultative Group on Biological Diversity. Meaghan received a B.S. in Environmental Science and Psychology from the University of Notre Dame, a certificate of International Population and Reproductive Health from the University of Michigan and a Master of Environmental Management from Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment with a focus on coastal resources. During her undergraduate education, Meaghan studied at Columbia University's Biosphere 2 Center in Tucson, Arizona. Mandy Ford is a program associate for the Marine Conservation Initiative. Prior to coming to the Foundation, Mandy was a technical recruiter at VMWare Inc. Previously, she worked in recruiting with STS International and Apple, Inc. Mandy has a B.S. in Conservation and Organismal Biology from San Jose State University. Meredith Lopuch is a program officer for the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation’s Marine Conservation Initiative. Before coming to the Foundation, Meredith spent more than a decade working on international marine fisheries and market-based conservation solutions at the World Wildlife Fund. Most recently, she served as director of their Major Buyer Initiative. Through this initiative Meredith worked with major seafood buyers such as Walmart, SYSCO, Kroger, SUPERVALU, Costco, and King and Prince to encourage and assist them in using their purchasing power to secure seafood from environmentally sustainable sources, to assess current seafood supply chains for sustainability of supply, and to use their supply chain to improve fisheries around the world. Earlier, she worked as deputy director of WWF’s Sustainable Seafood Initiative, and prior to that was a senior program officer in their Fisheries program. Throughout this period Meredith helped fisheries globally through fishery improvement efforts and MSC certification. Key accomplishments include helping the first Japanese fishery and the first tuna fishery to become MSC certified. Meredith holds an M.S. from Stanford in earth systems science with a focus in marine conservation, fisheries science, and environmental economics. She also holds a B.S from Stanford in biology with a focus in marine biology, and a B.A. in economics. Rachel Strader is a program officer in the Marine Conservation Initiative.
Before joining the Foundation, Rachel studied in Bermuda and Newfoundland, where she focused on the socioeconomics of commercial fisheries and the biology of coastal ecosystems. She also was a Summer Student Fellow at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's Marine Policy Center and an intern at the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance in Saco, Maine.
Rachel received a B.S. in Biology with a minor in Sociology from Union College in Schenectady and a Master of Environmental Management (M.E.M.) from Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment.
Mary Turnipseed is the Arctic fellow for the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation's Marine Conservation Initiative. Before joining the Foundation, Mary was a postdoctoral researcher at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis where she studied the global seafood market. Previously, Mary worked for Blue Ocean Institute, coordinating seafood research and outreach for its From Sea to Table initiative. Prior to that, she contributed to the National Science Foundation’s Long-Term Ecological Research Project at Palmer Station in Antarctica. Mary’s work has been published in Science, Ecology Law Quarterly, and Annual Reviews in Environment and Resources. In 2010, Mary received a Walter B. Jones Memorial Award for Excellence in Coastal and Marine Graduate Study from NOAA for her Ph.D. work on US ocean law and policy at Duke University. She also has a master’s degree in biology from the College of William and Mary and a B.S. in biology from Haverford College. Kate Wing, Program Officer, National & Cross-Cutting Kate Wing is a program officer in the Marine Conservation Initiative.
Prior to joining the Foundation she was an independent ocean policy and communications consultant working with fishing and conservation organizations. During her eight years with Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) she focused on the creation of marine protected areas, developed state legislative and budget conservation priorities, and participated in the development of several fishery management plans, including the Pacific Council’s HMS FMP and California’s abalone management and recovery plan. Kate’s academic background is in marine biology, including a season in Antarctica.
She holds a master’s degree from the University of Washington’s School of Marine Affairs and served as a Knauss Sea Grant Fellow on the Senate Commerce Committee. Wild Salmon Ecosystems Initiative Aileen Lee is the program director for the Wild Salmon Ecosystems Initiative.
Prior to joining the Foundation Aileen was an associate principal at McKinsey & Company where she led client engagements in strategy, operations, and organizational effectiveness across a range of sectors.
Aileen attended Yale University, where she received a B.A. with majors in Political Science and East Asian Studies. Aileen received her J.D. from Harvard Law School, and was admitted to the California bar. Charles Conn is a senior advisor for the Environmental Conservation Program and the Wild Salmon Ecosystem Initiative. Before joining the Foundation, Charles co-founded Citysearch and as CEO led the company through its mergers with USA Network's Ticketmaster Online and Ticketmaster, as well as its initial public offering in 1998 and acquisitions of Microsoft Sidewalk, Match.com, and other companies. Prior to that, Charles was a partner with McKinsey & Company, where he served as leader of its Growth Strategy Practice. Charles is a graduate of Boston University, Harvard Business School, and Oxford University where he was a Rhodes Scholar. Erin Dovichin is a program officer for the Wild Salmon Ecosystems Initiative at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Prior to joining the Foundation, Erin was the associate state director for The Nature Conservancy in Alaska where she oversaw the Conservancy’s conservation programs statewide, including shaping its wild salmon conservation efforts in the Tongass, Bristol Bay, and the Matanuska-Susitna watersheds. She has extensive experience in convening and facilitating diverse stakeholders in seeking collaborative solutions to high-conflict, natural resource management issues. Erin received her B.A. in American Studies and English from Dickinson College and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and Literary Arts from the University of Alaska Anchorage. Maureen Geesey is the program associate for the Environment Program and the Wild Salmon Ecosystem Initiative. Before joining the Foundation, Maureen worked for First Data Corporation where she supported the legal department in both employment and intellectual property law. Maureen received a B.A. in Political Science and a minor in History from Colorado State University and her Masters degree in Political Science from the University of Colorado with a focus on International Relations. Ivan Thompson is a program officer with the Wild Salmon Ecosystem Initiative. Prior to joining the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Ivan worked as a senior advisor with Tides Canada Foundation and as a Northern Rivers project director with the Sage Centre providing strategic and organizational support to collaborative conservation initiatives in British Columbia’s wild salmon ecosystems. He also worked as ForestEthics' Community and Economic Advisor on the Great Bear Rainforest campaign which led to the protection of large tracks coastal rainforest, a new ecosystem-based approach to forest practices, and significant new public and philanthropic investments in conservation-based economic development for indigenous communities. Ivan's earlier conservation efforts included the development and implementation of new consensus-based public participation models in resource management as well as work with BC Wild in a process that led to the doubling of British Columbia's protected areas network. Ivan began his professional life in the 1980's as a counselor and educator, working in treatment centers, alternative programs and Outward Bound schools in Ontario, British Columbia and Australia. Over time he moved to the post secondary system and educational leadership. He worked as Dean of Education with Northwest Community College focusing on natural resource programs and as a private community and workforce training consultant. Ivan holds a Post Graduate Certificate in Economics from the University of London, an M.Ed in Counselling from University of Victoria, a B.Ed in Outdoor and Experiential Education from Queens University, and a B.A. in Psychology from McMaster University.
|
Recent News
Recent Grants
Grantee Resources
|