Sonia CASTAñEDA

I contribute to nature conservation and climate emergency through the management of organizations and projects. As a child I got inspired by Mafalda, a comic strip character and cultural icon of the sixties with the insatiable drive to question everything.

My career has been a journey through different approaches to making a positive difference in the world, working as environmental lawyer, professor, activist, freelance, volunteer, advisor, executive director, high rank official or deputy director. For the last 20 years, I have worked for the biggest donor for nature conservation in Spain, Fundación Biodiversidad, a public sector foundation which is part of the government, that collaborates with more than 300 projects per year.

I work at the intersection of policy and projects, working in a diverse stakeholders environment embracing organizations such as NGO, universities, foundations, business, big corporations, as well as governments and public bodies. I enjoy working with a wide variety of professionals such as scientists, high rank officials, policy makers, CEOs, enterpreneurs, journalists or activists among others.

My work is also motivated by the strong connection between nature conservation and the way humans produce, consume, live, connect and relate with nature. I am concerned about the environmental health of the Planet. I am enthusiastic about inspiring economic models that respect nature, restoration of natural habitats, protected areas, wild and rural environments, ocean conservation and nature based solutions.

I am a member of the Council of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and have experience at several international and national boards and juries; as nominator for awards, and as member of governmental consultancy bodies such as the National Parks Network Council, the Spanish Advisory Council for the Environment or the Spanish Committee of UNESCO Man and Biosphere Programme. I am also a member of the board of  the Spanish Geographic Society and part of Homeward Bound, a global initiative for women in STEMM that aim at, by 2036, have powered a globally diverse leadership network of 10,000 STEMM women who are ensuring the sustainability of the planet.

 I have been honored by the Cross of the Order of Civil Merit.

Want to know more? I work for nature and spend my free time in nature.

I show a natural tendency for cooperation and collaboration and build sincere and longtime relations with people and issues that spark my interests and passion. Since a teenager I have travelled extensively around the world and I am well aware of the global challenges facing the planet. I have always shown great interest in the reality outside national borders and international networking. Also, my background allows me to be able to understand and apply different approaches to common realities and challenges. At the same time I am very much interested in local communities and cultural heritage.

I am passionate about mountains, rural landscapes and polar regions. And, of course, I still read Mafalda with whom I share values like justice, equality freedom and the protection of the common good and the Planet.