I am an ecologist, conservation leader, and applied scientist with 20 years of experience in conservation and 15 years of program and scientific leadership. My work sits at the intersection of conservation science, climate change, biodiversity, and human well-being, with extensive experience across Latin America and the Global South.
Throughout my career, I have worked to connect scientific evidence with practical conservation action—developing strategies, leading programs and multidisciplinary teams, building partnerships, securing funding, and helping organizations understand and measure their impact.
I have developed strategies that guide conservation priorities, investments, and organizational decision-making, and I believe effective leadership combines clarity and accountability with collaboration, trust, and opportunities for people to grow.
Led Conservation International's global Climate Adaptation Program, setting scientific direction and strategic priorities.
Led the Climate Change Adaptation team within Conservation International's Science Division.
Led the development and implementation of Conservation International's Climate Adaptation Science Strategy.
Guided research priorities at the intersection of biodiversity conservation, climate adaptation, and human well-being.
Led multidisciplinary and geographically distributed teams working across organizational divisions and countries.
Supervised and mentored staff, students, interns, and consultants.
Led teams in highly matrixed organizations, creating alignment across people with different expertise, responsibilities, and reporting structures.
Supported professional development while maintaining accountability for program and organizational outcomes.
I have designed and led complex science-based conservation initiatives and have extensive experience translating conservation priorities into fundable programs.
Co-designed Conservation International's Climate Adaptation Strategy, establishing organizational priorities and implementation pathways.
Led 23 cross-functional conservation initiatives across 11 countries.
Directed international conservation portfolios integrating science, partnerships, funding, and implementation.
Worked across forests, grasslands, wetlands, freshwater systems, coral reefs, mangroves, and agricultural landscapes.
Integrated biodiversity conservation, climate adaptation, ecosystem resilience, and human well-being into conservation planning and implementation.
Worked closely with field programs and local partners to translate science into practical conservation action.
Co-developed methodologies and guidance for designing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating conservation interventions.
Secured and managed approximately US$6 million in donor funding.
Co-developed more than 35 multidisciplinary funding proposals (70% successful rate).
Developed scientific and technical components of major conservation proposals, including theories of change, results frameworks, monitoring approaches, and implementation strategies.
Managed international conservation portfolios from proposal development and budgeting through implementation, monitoring, donor reporting, and adaptive management.
Worked with organizational and external partners to align scientific priorities, donor requirements, budgets, and implementation.
I develop monitoring, evaluation, and learning approaches that help organizations understand whether conservation actions are achieving their intended outcomes and how they can improve.
Developed monitoring, evaluation, learning, and adaptive management approaches to assess the benefits of conservation.
Identified indicators to track the biodiversity, human wellbeing and climate adaptation benefits of conservation.
Developed methodologies and practical guidance and indicators for conservation practitioners and decision-makers to support the identification and implementation of monitoring and evaluation systems.
I conducted and translate applied science to strengthen conservation decision-making, practice, and capacity.
Authored 43 peer-reviewed publications, including papers in Science, Nature Communications, PNAS, The Lancet, and other scientific journals.
Conducted applied research on biodiversity conservation, ecosystem restoration, climate adaptation, Nature-based Solutions, and human well-being.
Translated scientific evidence into technical guidance, policy-relevant products, presentations, and conservation strategies.
Designed and delivered training and capacity-building reaching more than 500 conservation practitioners and decision-makers globally.
Conservation requires collaboration across disciplines, organizations, sectors, and communities. Building those relationships has been central to my work.
Developed and sustained partnerships with more than 50 organizations spanning governments, NGOs, academia, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and donor institutions.
Worked with more than 100 collaborators across multidisciplinary and geographically distributed initiatives.
Led collaborative proposal and program development involving colleagues and partners from multiple disciplines, organizations, and countries.
Represented Conservation International at more than 25 international scientific and policy forums.
Worked across scientific, programmatic, policy, communications, development, finance, and operational teams to advance shared priorities.
Member, Science Committee, World Adaptation Science Program, 2023–Present
Leader, Women's Network, Conservation International, 2021–2025
Co-leader, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, Conservation International, 2023–2025