Paulina ARROYO

Paulina is an environmental leader and manager with over 20 years of experience dedicated to rights-based conservation in Latin America, the U.S., and globally, with a specific emphasis on Indigenous peoples’ rights, management effectiveness of protected area, gender equity, shared governance for natural resource management, and conservation finance for resiliency. She has managed multi-stakeholder projects across several countries effectively engaging grass-roots organizations, Indigenous and local community representatives, government agencies, scientific entities, donors, and international environmental non-government organizations. She has developed long-lasting partnerships with government officials, including heads of state; funders; non-profit organizations; for-profit companies; and universities. She has proven leadership to facilitate inter-disciplinary teams and engage executive leadership for strategic planning and impact-oriented conservation actions based on scientific information, local knowledge, and adaptive management. Ensuring that conservation has long-lasting impact and durability for future generations is her driving force.

She currently contributes to several working committees, including Board member of Planet Women. Paulina holds a Master of Environmental Management from Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment, with a focus on Environmental Leadership, and a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Waterloo, Canada. She has a post-graduate certificate in gender and natural resources management from the Latin American Faculty for Social Sciences-FLACSO in Quito, Ecuador.