Biography
Maria works on the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation's Andes-Amazon Initiative, where she is in charge of the development and management of the portfolio of grants on drivers of habitat change. In that capacity, she works with partners to mitigate the negative impacts of infrastructure and mining projects that disrupt ecological connectivity and produce degradation in the Amazon region. She is an economist and environmental professional with over 10 years of experience in political and natural resource economics, landscape conservation and restoration, and sustainable development and finance in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Prior to joining the foundation, Maria worked as senior associate and economist at World Resources Institute (WRI) in Washington, DC. There, she coordinated activities in South America within the framework of Initiative 20x20, a regional effort to restore degraded forests and landscapes in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Before WRI, Maria was a research fellow at the InterAmerican Development Bank (IADB), where she focused on political economics researching about the quality of institutions, policy-making capabilities, and tax compliance in LAC.
Maria holds a master’s degree in economics from the University of British Columbia and a bachelor’s degree from Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá-Colombia. She is originally from Bogotá, Colombia and is based in the Bay Area for this role.
related links
Andes-Amazon Initiative
Environmental Conservation
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