John is Managing Partner of Wealth Partners Capital Group, LLC, which provides capital and strategic support to Registered Investment Advisor firms. Formerly, John was President of AMG Wealth Partners, and served in leadership roles prior to that at Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers, Credit Suisse First Boston and Goldman, Sachs & Co. John holds Bachelors’ degrees in Economics and English Literature from Georgetown University, a Master’s in Management from the Sloan School of Management at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School.

As a child of the ‘70s, John remembers celebrating the first Earth Day. He has been involved in various environmental causes for over 30 years. John has been a RFUS board member since 2009, and is particularly devoted to RFUS given the team’s efficiency and intense commitment.

As Head of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP’s Latin America Practice, Todd advises clients in international corporate finance transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and project finance. A leader in pro-bono practice, he is a member of the governing body and executive committee of the Cyrus R. Vance Center of International Justice, where he was founding chair. He also serves as the Vance Center representative to the boards of the Pro Bono Network of the Americas (Red Pro Bono de las Américas) and the Lawyers Council for Civil and Economic Rights of the Americas. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Howard College of Arts & Sciences at Samford University, the board of directors of the Council of the Americas and the board of directors of Equitable Origin. He has acted as counsel to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in the context of the Awas Tingni case, an important precedent-setting case related to property rights of indigenous peoples under international law. Todd holds a Bachelor’s in International Relations from Samford University, a License d’histoire from Université de Paris IV Sorbonne, and a Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School.

Todd came to issues related to indigenous peoples rights almost three decades ago. As a young lawyer, he represented the Awas Tingni community in Nicaragua in negotiations with the Nicaraguan government and a lumber company. The experience introduced him to the intersection of environmental concerns and human rights, which defines the work of Rainforest Foundation US. Todd has served on RFUS’s board since 2007. He firmly believes that supporting indigenous peoples to protect their rainforests is the most cost-effective solution to forest degradation, deforestation, and related climate change.

As Deputy Chief Compliance Officer for Partner Fund Management, L.P. from 2016 to 2019, Brett ensured the firm met national and international regulations. Formerly, he held leadership roles at Kingdon Capital Management, L.L.C., PricewaterhouseCoopers, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Brett is also a dedicated volunteer, having worked for several years at Animal Haven, where he prepared dogs for adoption. Now retired, he currently volunteers at Sea Turtle Oversight Protection, an NGO dedicated to rescuing disoriented sea turtle hatchlings in coordination with local and state authorities. He earned his Bachelor’s in Accounting from Millsaps College and uses his background in accounting and finance to serve as the Treasurer of Rainforest Foundation US. Brett is dedicated to environmental causes and ensuring that the indigenous populations of Central and South America are entitled to own and manage their own land.

S. James Anaya is a University Distinguished Professor and the Nicholas Doman Professor of International Law at the University of Colorado Law School (USA), where he teaches and writes in the areas of international human rights and issues concerning indigenous peoples. Professor Anaya is a graduate of the University of New Mexico (B.A. in Economics, 1980) and Harvard Law School (J.D., 1983).  Among his numerous publications is his acclaimed book, Indigenous Peoples in International Law (Oxford Univ. Press, 1996, 2d. ed. 2004) and his widely-used co-authored textbook, International Human Rights: Problems of Law, Policy and Practice (Aspen, 6th ed. 2016) (with Hurst Hannum and Dinah Shelton).

Professor Anaya served as the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples from 2008 to 2014. In that capacity, he examined and reported on conditions of indigenous peoples worldwide and responded to allegations of human rights violations against them, including through country visits and direct contacts with governments.  In addition, Professor Anaya has litigated major indigenous rights and human rights cases in domestic and international tribunals, including the United States Supreme Court and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Among his noteworthy activities, he participated in the drafting of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and was the lead counsel for the indigenous parties in the case of Awas Tingni v. Nicaragua, in which the Inter-American Court of Human Rights for the first time upheld indigenous land rights as a matter of international law.

Steve is an entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist. He is the Principal of the Stone Arch Group, a private investment firm that funds single and multi-family real estate opportunities and growth stage companies. Steve and Stone Arch also support organizations committed to climate change mitigation, rainforest preservation, education, children’s health, and the arts. Between 2005 and 2016, he was the Co-Founder and CEO of Group of Health Care Training Companies, which built and operated five healthcare training organizations. Formerly, he served as the Managing Director of Fastwired, and as the CEO and Owner of Human-i-Tees. Steve holds a Bachelor’s in Economics from Trinity College-Hartford and a Certificate in Organizational Design for Digital Transformation from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management.

In addition to running various businesses, Steve has been involved in environmental advocacy and forest preservation for over twenty years. He is committed to utilizing this experience in helping Rainforest Foundation US effectively fulfill its mission.

With more than 20 years of experience working in the natural resources, technology and financial service sectors, Christian leads the development of environmental services based on satellite imagery and advanced analytics at Kayrros. Formerly, he played leadership roles at Goldman Sachs and BHP. Christian started his career as a software engineer and holds a Master’s of Business Administration from INSEAD.

Christian supports the RFUS team by analyzing the risks presented by extractive industries, and finding ways in which indigenous communities can use new technologies to protect their lands and livelihoods. Christian’s life-long devotion to environment issues and interest in supporting indigenous peoples stem from his childhood in Mexico.

Jenny Springer is Director of Equator Group, an independent advisory service. For more than 20 years, she has worked to advance rights-based and community-led approaches to conservation, Indigenous and community land rights and community-led climate action. Her previous roles include serving as Director of IUCN’s Global Program on Governance and Rights, Chair of the IUCN CEESP theme on Governance, Equity and Rights, Director of Global Programs at the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) and Senior Director for People and Conservation at WWF-US. Across these diverse roles she has led programs supporting Indigenous and community-led conservation, analytical work demonstrating how secure community land rights contribute to global development goals and diverse collaborations on rights-based approaches to the environment. She conducted anthropological field research on community resource governance in South India and the Philippines, served in the Peace Corps in Ifugao (Philippines), and holds degrees from Harvard College and the University of Chicago.