David Gibson

Dave has over 30 years of experience delivering more than $1B of private and public investments in sustainable agriculture, forestry, and aquaculture products across Latin America, Africa, and Asia. He retired from IFC in 2019, where he managed ESG risks across biomaterial investments and co-authored the IFC Performance Standards and EHS Sector Guidelines. He has championed the application of E&S management systems (ESMS) and the use of third-party verification systems across forestry and agribusiness supply chains, and is skilled in geospatial technologies. Before working at IFC, Dave managed USAID’s protected area and sustainable agriculture programs in Latin America and East Africa and directed the global environmental services division at a major consultancy. He holds degrees in Wildlife and Fishery Biology from Colorado State University and Forest Management from Yale.

Suelen Marostica

Suelen is a Brazilian citizen and specializes in forestry, climate change, payments for ecosystem services, sustainable development, innovative financial mechanisms for conservation and bio-economy in the Amazon. She has over 10 years of experience in project management, program design, operations structuring, grant making and business modelling for different types of organizations, including businesses and non-profits. Suelen has worked with IDESAM, Amazonas Sustainable Foundation, FUNBIO and in the insurance industry on carbon market and biodiversity/ conservation products and services, and specializes in business evaluation, development and operations. Suelen has a degree in Forest Engineering, a Masters of Science in Climate and Environment, and an MBA in Business Strategy.

Audrey Paranque

Fluent in Portuguese, Spanish, English and French, Audrey is a French national, and specializes in business and tourism development, real estate transactions, and assisting traditional communities to engage with the outside world. Audrey has lived in Latin America for 13 years, including in Brazil for the past 11 years. She has worked in large corporations, including Accor Hotels, where she was responsible for business development and acquisitions in Brazil. Her experience includes undertaking market research, feasibility studies, and preparing development strategies for tourism projects in Europe, South America and Africa. Over the past 4 years, Audrey has focused on ecotourism in the Patagonia and Amazon, and gathering and sharing traditional knowledge possessed by native communities and indigenous leaders. She has lived with communities in the Amazon and the Andes, and has assisted indigenous communities with business development to monetize natural products (medicinals) and services and community-based or experiential tourism. Audrey has a BBA, an Advanced Masters degree in Strategy & Management of International Business, and a specialization in Impact Investing from ESSEC Business School (Paris, France).

John Polisar

John coordinated the Jaguar Program at the Wildlife Conservation Society for over a decade, with impacts in Mesoamerica, the Chaco, and the Amazon. Currently based in the Smithsonian Mason School of Conservation, he specializes in conservation and wildlife policy with a sustainable livelihood focus. His experiences span ranching, farming, forestry, and environmental diplomacy to protect the Earth’s essential life support systems. John is a prolific writer and researcher, and frequently has blogged on behalf of conservation organizations on topics relating to jaguars, their prey, and the habitats they call home. He has participated in the development and promotion of the Jaguar 2030 Road Map and is an advocate for the jaguar species in the context of large-scale ecosystem or biome-based integrated conservation planning.

Rolf Wachholtz

Rolf is a German citizen who has lived in Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador and worked in Colombia, Peru and Africa. Rolf specializes in agricultural economics, forestry and risk management, and has worked on diverse short- and long-term assignments including developing a forest landscape restoration facility, designing a national REDD+ action plan, developing strategies to recover degraded lands in the Amazon using REDD+, and recommending biodiversity monitoring systems and early warning systems for illegal deforestation. He has worked on REDD project design and separately REDD project due diligence. His expertise includes evaluation of programs to develop alternatives to illicit crops and enforcement, bio-economy project and business development (e.g., honey), providing technical services to protected areas, promoting conservation and sustainable development forest systems (Chiquitania, Pantanal), land use planning, soil erosion control and reforestation, crop disease assessment, and designing climate change adaptation strategies. Rolf supports the team with due diligence, operations management and structuring advice.