Who we are

Marlon is a founding member of Rios Andinos and our Senior Advisor on applied natural resources economics and finance. Since 2009, he has been a technical advisor to UNDP and is currently part of the UNDP’s FACS (Food and Agricultural Commodity Systems) Practice at the Nature, Climate and Energy Unit. Marlon oversees economic valuation projects in Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. Until December 2008, he was the Lead Advisor on Protected Areas Finance of The Nature Conservancy’s Worldwide Office in Arlington, VA, USA. Previously, he has worked (consulting and full time emeplyment) for The World Bank, Care Denmark, COWI Consulting Engineers & Planners of Denmark, and eight years of public sector experience at the General Audit Office of Ecuador. Marlon has taught at the San Francisco University of Quito, Ecuador, and the Technological Institute of Monterrey (TEC Monterrey), Mexico. He is also a Policy Advisor of the Ecologic Institute, a DC-based environmental think tank www.ecologic-institute.eu. Marlon has a Master's degree in Economics from the University of Manchester, UK and a Bsc. degree from The Central University of Ecuador. Marlon has dual citizenship, US and Ecuadorian

Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, Kirsten Majgaard has is our Senior Education Policy Advisor. Kirsten has worked for the past 15 years in international education with a focus on supporting access to quality education for the poorest children in the developing world, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. Her professional experience includes the Global Partnership for Education, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, as well as the private sector. With a Master's degree in economics from The University Of Copenhagen, she has specialized in education finance, planning, and policy. Based in the Washington D.C. area, she enjoys traveling with her family, including on frequent trips to Ecuador. She is passionate about building the skills and human capital of children and youth, so that they can develop their full potential. Kirsten is a founding member and the Treasurer of Rios Andinos.

Mathias is the Secretary of Rios Andinos and was born and raised in Vienna, Virginia, US. He has dual citizenship, US and Danish. He is currently based in Copenhagen. Mathias has a Master of Science in Forest and Nature Management from the University of Copenhagen and works with sustainability and human rights regulations at the Danish Food Cooperative, COOP. In his free time, Mathias loves music, Tottenham, horseback riding, traveling, and spending time in Ecuador.

Isabel is an architecture student at the University of Virginia (UVA). She is passionate about design, art, nature, and horses and is a proficient rider. Isabel has been traveling through Europe and Latin America and is a dual Denmark and United States citizen. Isabel helps with forest planning, natural trails, and horseback riding projects.

Francisco (Pancho) Sornoza is an Ecuadorian ornithologist and naturalist guide with vast experience. The national counterpart for elaborating the book Birds of Ecuador by R. Ridgely and P. Greenfield. He created the Jocotoco Foundation, and for over twenty years, he led the Foundation's conservation work as President, Executive Director, and Conservation Director. Thus, he was instrumental in creating 11 reserves protecting more than 50% of Ecuador's avifauna. He is the author of several publications on birds, mammals, and herpetofauna. He is the discoverer of the new Blue-throated Star Hummingbird species, published in September 2018. Due to the significance of his conservation work, Francisco received the Honorable Mention for Relevant Services to the City "Marieta De Veintimilla," granted by the Mayor of the Metropolitan District of Quito in April 2019.

Born in San Miguel de Los Bancos, Ecuador, Jessenia (right side yellow rain jacket) is a young local leader. She is completing her degree (online Program) in Economics at the Universidad Técnica de Loja. She leads the local reforestation team "Women and Forest of the Río Blanco."

She recently completed an internship at the WWF in Ecuador, where she collected socio-economic data on the Canton San Miguel de Los Bancos. This information is critical to improving project design and training local women on the importance of reforestation efforts and how their involvement can help address gender inequity, improve project quality, and protect the local forest ecosystems. She actively participates in local discussions on how reforestation and biodiversity conservation can increase women's income directly and indirectly. When she completed high school, Jessica was awarded the diploma of being the best student in her class. This achievement led her to obtain a Rios Andinos grant to support her university degree.

Ramiro is a founding member of Rios Andinos and is our Senior Coordinator and Logistical Technician. He supports both Rios Andinos and The Rancho Tangaré Reserve. Ramiro has had a 35-year career at the National Accounting Office of Ecuador (Contraloría General del Estado -CGE), where he was a supervisor at the Environmental Control Unit. He completed the training on Environmental Conservation Auditing by INWENT (Germany). He participated in the environmental analysis of high-profile infrastructure projects, including the San Francisco, Agoyan, and Coca-Codo Sinclair hydropower plants. From 1980 to 2012, he was an active member of the Quito Radio Club  (QRC).

From 2000 to 2005, Ramiro was the Ministry of Tourism's certified river rafting guide. He trained local governments and tour operators on river rafting safety and participated in numerous expeditions on the Blanco, Mulaute, Caoní, and Toachi rivers in the northwest of Ecuador.

 He is an outdoor enthusiast and camping expert in Ecuador.

Ben is our policy advisor on education for children with special needs. Ben began traveling to Ecuador after college and eventually moved there to start a white water rafting company with friends. After living there for a year, he returned to the United States and became a Special Education teacher in Montgomery County. Ben started working at Pyle Middle School, where he had the opportunity to take students to Japan to spend time with Japanese students in Iwate. Later on, when Ben moved to Walt Whitman High School, and found opportunities to travel with students to new countries, including Ecuador and Peru. He is passionate about contributing to improve education standards in rural schools in developing countries, travel, white water rafting, and nature.

William is our Senior Policy Advisor on Environmental Economics and Planning. He is the founder and President of the award-winning consulting firm EcoPlan International (EPI) of Canada https://ecoplan.ca

William is a certified professional planner, economist, and decision analyst. His work applies insights from strategic planning, structured decision-making, behavioral decision research, and negotiation science a range of projects related to economic development, tourism, community and regional planning, valuation/compensation, cultural impact, program evaluation/ business case, site selection, biodiversity, and national parks management. 

William is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia’s School of Community and Regional Planning https://scarp.ubc.ca/people and at Simon Fraser University’s School of Resource and Environmental Management, as well as an Associate at SFU’s Center for Sustainable Community Development. Will is pictured with his wife, Susan, at the Cotopaxi National Park.

Sven is our Senior Advisor on forest and environmental economics and brings ample experience in applied research. He has for the last decade been among the world’s top-five cited environmental/ ecological economists, earning him in 2014 a continuous place on Thomsen-Reuters/ Clarivate’s prestigious annual list, “The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds.” A Danish citizen with German roots, he has been working for Danida, the Danish Centre for Development Research, IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), and CIFOR (Center for International Forestry Research). He is a Principal Scientist (Economist) at the European Forest Institute (EFI), Mediterranean Office, in Barcelona, Spain. 

Sven is internationally known, in particular, for his leading role in developing and testing the concepts of payments for environmental services (PES). His primary interest is to help design effective conservation policy and intervention mixes, combining incentives (such as PES, certification, or easements) with disincentives (such as forest law enforcement), protected areas (parks or sustainable use areas), and other tools (e.g., capacity building or environmental education). He has also worked extensively on deforestation, land-use change, and forest and poverty issues. However, his interests also span tourism, forest fires, climate change mitigation, and adaptation. 

Sven has led a globalized life; he has lived in Ecuador, Brazil, Peru, Colombia, and Indonesia). Thus, It is no surprise that in his free time, he likes traveling, hiking, and playing soccer with his two kids and dog.

Fernando is our Senior Policy Advisor on Environmental Governance and Finance; he lives in Lima, Peru. Fernando is an expert in environmental financing and public policies on biodiversity conservation. Fernando was a managing director when the Ministry of Environment (MINAM) was established. He led the process to develop the first generation of payments for ecosystem services (PES) and a leader at mainstreaming Natural Infrastructure into Public Investment Policy in Peru. He supported the production of economic and financial information that was used for the 400% increase in the budget of the national system of natural areas protected by the state (SINANPE). Fernando's positions at MINAM include General Director and Deputy Minister of Strategic Development of Natural Resources. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of the National Water Authority (ANA), and the National Forest and Wildlife Service (SERFOR). He is a current member of the Board of Directors of the Environmental Assessment and Control Agency (OEFA). He is a senior consultant with experience in Peru, Germany, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, and Mexico.

Guillermo is our policy advisor on protected areas finance, economics and private sector financial institutions. Guillermo is a dedicated professional with over 30 years of experience in finance, conservation, and sustainability. He has worked on projects in Central America, Latin America, and abroad. During the last fifteen years, he has worked as Finance & Operations Manager and Regional Finance Manager for major international finance institutions.Guillermo is a renowned consultant specializing in the financial sustainability of protected areas, ecosystem economics, and related capacity building. He has worked for organizations such as UNDP, UICN, The GEF, and at The Nature Conservancy, as Sustainable Finance Specialist, from 2003 to 2008.His recent experience includes designing the entry fee systems for the National Protected Area System of Belize, and the conceptual design of the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan of Trinidad and Tobago. He also participated in developing the proposal for a financial strategy for Selva Maya, Mexico. Guillermo holds an MBA and Banking Administration degrees from the University of Costa Rica (UCR). He also studied Project Management and Natural Resources Management at the ITESM of Mexico; and Environmental Economics Tools at Stanford University. Guillermo is currently pursuing his second Master’s degree in Green Economy.Guillermo is a Costa Rican citizen, He lives with his family in San José. In his spare time, Guillermo enjoys traveling, photography and nature-based sports.

Martin is the Vice-President of Rios Andinos. He works as a Senior Ornithologist and is a qualified British Trust of Ornithology (BTO) Ringer in the United Kingdom. Specialising in ornithological projects, conducting breeding, vantage point, wetland and wintering bird surveys. As well as species specific bird surveys such as Barn Owl, Nightingale, Black Redstart and Peregrine Falcon. Having started his career within ecological consultancies in 2016, working for various sized companies in the UK. Martin has experience on an array of projects, including green energy sites and Sites of Special Scientific Interest for Natural England. 

Martin is a Associate member of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM), and holds a BSc in Ecology from the University of Brighton. 

As a keen ornithologist, his passions for birds has led to him becoming a trained BTO ringer who regularly conducts ringing of passerines, birds of prey, waders and waterfowl in the UK. He also volunteers with the Sussex Barn Owl Group, dedicating time to the monitoring and conservation of Barn Owls in Sussex. In addition he has also worked with several wildlife groups across the globe, in the UK, South Africa and South America following his passions of conservation.

Prior to 2012 Graeme Dunlop had been a UK ringer at a well manged reedbed site. That year, he visited the Kartong in Gambia. In 2014, he joined a ringing expedition back to Gambia, which started his international ringing. In 2017 he joined a group of Canadian ringers in South Africa, where he learned how to ring raptors. He has have made three further trips to Africa, On to South Africa, one to Uganda, and one to Rwanda. In 2022, South America beckoned, and it started in Mexico with Peru and Ecuador quickly following in 2022. Then Mexico again in February and November 2023 and 2024, as well as Colombia and Australia in 2023.

In November 2024, along with Martin, Charlie, Marlon, and Patrick. Graeme undertook the first full ringing expedition at Rancho Tangaré.

 Patrick joined the team as an assistant during the 2024 bird ringing expedition and quickly became a valued member of the group. His contributions were essential, particularly in the vital tasks of recording data, setting up equipment and managing logistics. His attention to detail and organisational skills ensured that the team operated smoothly, helping to facilitate the success of the expedition. Patrick's dedication and teamwork made a significant impact, and he was an integral part of the overall effort. 

 Charlie is our Senior Policy Advisor on Environmental Planning, Biodiversity, and Nature-based Tourism. Born in California but reared in Boston, Charlie is an expert on the birds of Ecuador and has mounted numerous expeditions in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Guyana. A major contributor of recordings to Xeno-canto.org, a birdsong database, has conducted bird surveys and prepared bird lists for many foundations and protected areas in Ecuador, including Yachana Lodge, Maquipucuna (Bird-friendly Chocolate), La Perla Reserves and Madidi National Park in Bolivia. His sense of discovery has led him to find one new bird species for Ecuador (Tropical Mockingbird), 2nd record for the Northern Shoveler, and many new provincial and altitude records (3 cited in the Birds of Ecuador). Charlie is a published author of 5 scientific papers on bird distribution, bird behavior, pollination, and herpetology. In 2004, he undertook one of the first ornithological expeditions to the summit of Volcan Sumaco, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. With a B.S. from Colorado College, an M.S. in Evolutionary Biology from NAU, and 8 years at Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology, Charlie has also obtained a comprehensive knowledge of tropical botany and entomology. He has led tours for Wilderness Travel and Harvard's Museum of Natural History. He has also worked for many years in environmental consulting and most recently served as Academic Director for the Ecology Program with the School for International Training in Ecuador. Charlie funded and owns Andean Birding https://andeanbirding.org

His easygoing style and humor serve him well with everyone.