Rainforest Foundation US's team members pose in front of the huge roots of a Kapok tree

Team

Suzanne Pelletier
Executive Director

Luz Del Alba Sánchez
Operations Manager

Programs

Christine Halvorson
Program Director

Josh Lichtenstein
Program Manager

Cameron Ellis
Senior Geographer

Carlos Doviaza
Mapping Coordinator

Peru Program

Tom Bewick
Country Director

Margoth Quispe
Legal & Policy Analyst

Wendy Pineda
Project Coordinator

Plinio Pizango Hualinga
Policy Analyst & Capacity Building Specialist

Daniela Anazgo
Administrative and Logistics Coordinator

Jaime Cardenas
Loreto Information Coordinator

Andrea Tirado
Communications Coordinator

Iris Plaza Arce
Reforestation and Conservation Coordinator

Development

Kim Chaix
Director of Strategic Impact

Marina Zelle
Head of Donor Relationships

Viviana Briseño
Development Operations Manager

Communications

Maryka Ives Paquette
Communications Manager

Laura Piccoli
Program and Communications Associate

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Gabriela De Jesus
Community Engagement Specialist

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Suzanne Pelletier
Executive Director

Suzanne Pelletier has served as the Executive Director of the Rainforest Foundation US since April 2009. Formerly, Suzanne was the Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations at the National Audubon Society. Suzanne holds a Master’s in Business Administration from Columbia Business School and a Master’s of Environmental Studies from the Yale School of Forestry.

Luz Del Alba Sánchez
Operations Manager

Luz del Alba Sánchez manages Rainforest Foundation US’s administrative and operational systems, bringing over 10 years of experience in nonprofit operations and finance. Born and raised in Queens, NY to Dominican immigrant parents, Luz del Alba is passionate about improving the lives and opportunities for marginalized communities in and outside of the US. Luz del Alba holds a Master’s in Nonprofit Management with specializations in Leadership & Change as well as Gender & Sexuality Studies from the Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy at The New School. She is fluent in Spanish.

Christine Halvorson
Program Director

Christine Halvorson oversees Rainforest Foundation US’s partnerships in Brazil, Guyana and Panama and brings extensive expertise in institutional strengthening, land management planning and titling, policy and campaigning. Prior to joining RFUS in 1999, she was a director of Amanaka’a Amazon Network. She has worked on issues connecting the environment and social justice for nearly thirty years, both in the Amazon as well as locally in New York City where she serves on the board of ABC No Rio, a cultural center in the Lower East Side. She holds a Master’s in Anthropology from The New School for Social Research. She is fluent in Portuguese and Spanish and also speaks rusty French.

Josh Lichtenstein
Program Manager

Josh Lichtenstein provides policy, negotiation and management guidance to Rainforest Foundation US’s Panama and Guyana programs. Josh has been a rights and environment activist for almost thirty years, working with community, indigenous, women, farmer and conservation grassroots organizations and NGOs to advance their initiatives in both the US and internationally. Prior to joining RFUS, he served as the Latin America and Forest Program Manager and then as Campaign Director at the DC-based Bank Information Center, where he was also one of the CSO Observers to the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility. Josh holds a Master’s in International Economics from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and is fluent in Spanish.

Cameron Ellis
Senior Geographer
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Cameron Ellis manages mapping and field operations for Rainforest Foundation US’s work in Central America and the Guiana Shield. He is also a skilled multimedia artist. Cameron has been working with indigenous communities for over fifteen years, supporting them to map, manage, articulate and advocate their own vision for a prosperous and sustainable future. Cameron has a Master’s in Anthropology from the University of New Mexico and is fluent in Spanish.

Carlos Doviaza
Mapping Coordinator

Carlos Doviaza is an indigenous Emberá from the Darien in Panama and coordinates Rainforest Foundation US’s mapping and monitoring work with indigenous peoples across the country and for projects elsewhere in Central America. Previously, Carlos supported the Congreso General de Tierras Colectivas Embera y Wounaan to advance a range of the organization’s initiatives. He holds a Bachelor’s in Computer Science from the Universidad Interamericana de Panamá and is currently working on a Bachelor’s in Environmental Risk Management at the Universidad Latinoamericana de Comercio Exterior in Panama. Carlos is bilingual in Spanish and Emberá.

Tom Bewick
Country Director

Tom Bewick directs research, forest protection, and legal work as well as fundraising, communication, operations and outreach for Rainforest Foundation US’s Peru program. Tom previously worked as an international tropical timber trade investigator, an environmental services project developer, and as an international human rights observer. Tom holds an LLM in International Human Rights Law from the University of Nottingham and a Master’s in Education from Fordham University. He is fluent in Spanish and Indonesian.

Margoth Quispe
Legal & Policy Analyst

Margoth Quispe works as a liaison with governmental agencies and counsels indigenous communities on applying for land titles. Since 2014, Margoth has represented the indigenous Ashaninka community of Saweto in their active murder prosecutions of prominent indigenous leaders and to obtain the legal title to nearly 81,000 hectares of their ancestral land. Margoth is a trained human rights lawyer and formerly served as the Human Rights Ombudsman in the eastern Amazonian Department of Ucayali. She is a native Spanish language speaker.

Wendy Pineda
Project Coordinator

Wendy Pineda is a territorial management tools specialist using Geographical Information Systems (GIS), mapping, geographic and environmental engineering, satellite remote sensing and project management techniques to create participatory tools and training methodologies for communities working to protect and manage their ancestral lands. Since 2007, she has collaborated with many indigenous peoples’ organizations in the Peruvian Amazon on community monitoring, ethno mapping and technology transfer initiatives. She is a native Spanish language speaker.

Plinio Pizango Hualinga
Policy Analyst & Capacity Building Specialist

Plinio Pizango Hualinga is an indigenous Kampu Piyawi specialized in training communities on strategies and policies to protect their forests against deforestation and securing climate change mitigation resources. Previously, he worked with AIDESEP, a national indigenous peoples’ organization providing technical advising and analysis on forest and climate change policy. Plinio holds a Bachelor’s in Political Science and a specialization in Public Policy focusing on climate change mitigation and adaptation from the National University of San Marcos. He is a native Spanish language speaker.

Daniela Anazgo
Administrative and Logistics Coordinator

Daniela supports the overall administration and financial and operational management of Rainforest Foundation US’s work in Peru, with a recent focus on supporting the program’s COVID-19 response. Prior to joining Rainforest Foundation, Daniela was a supervisor at the Casa Andina hotel network in Peru, providing staff and management oversight of large teams. She holds a Master’s in Business Management from the Universidad San Martin De Porres. She is a native Spanish language speaker and is proficient in English.

Jaime Cardenas
Loreto Information Coordinator

Jaime works directly with the Organization of the Indigneous People of the Eastern Amazon (ORPIO) and indigenous communities in Loreto to systematize and manage data on environmental crimes to support community-led reforestation projects. Jaime holds a degree in Tropical Forest Ecology from the Universidad Nacional de la Amazonía Peruana (UNAP) in Peru. He is a native Spanish language speaker and is also fluent in Portuguese.

Andrea Tirado
Communications Coordinator

Andrea supports communications and logistics across a broad range of projects for the Peru program. Andrea previously worked in private and public organizations since 2014, including the Canadian Embassy in Peru, Canadian Commercial Corporation, and El Dorado Investments. She is dedicated to elevating the voices and messages of Peru’s indigenous peoples and organizations. She holds a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from the Universidad del Pacífico and a Certificate in International Business Management from Greystone College. She is a native Spanish language speaker and is fluent in English and French.

Iris Plaza Arce
Reforestation and Conservation Coordinator

Iris Plaza Arce coordinates Rainforest Foundation US’s community conservation, reforestation, sustainable livelihoods and Blockchain financing initiatives in Peru. Prior to joining the team in 2020, Iris worked for Peruvian government institutions including the national parks department (Servicio Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas por el Estado, or SERNANP) and the supervising organization for natural resource use (Organismo de Supervisión de los Recursos Forestales y de Fauna Silvestre, or OSINFOR), in which she was in charge of coordinating with indigenous communities and regional and national government agencies in forestry and sustainable development initiatives. Iris holds a Bachelor’s in Forest Engineering from the Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina (UNALM) in Peru, and is working on a Master’s in Agricultural Innovation for Rural Development at the same university. She is a native Spanish language speaker.

Kim Chaix
Director of Strategic Impact

Kim oversees key aspects of the organization’s fundraising, and communications activities and spearheads strategic partnerships and new initiatives. Previously, Kim served as the Director of Virunga Fund, a US non-profit dedicated to the protection of Africa’s oldest and most biologically diverse national park. He also founded The Charcoal Project, a non-profit dedicated to bringing better biomass fuels and technologies to populations that depend on wood and traditional charcoal in sub-Saharan Africa. Kim’s first career was as a television news producer and wildlife documentary film-maker. As a French-Nicaraguan, Kim is a native Spanish and French speaker.

Marina Zelle
Head of Donor Relationships

Marina Zelle ensures that Rainforest Foundation US’s donors are connected and engaged with the organization’s programming, and that programming is aligned with donors’ interests. Marina was first introduced to the organization in 2012 as a donor herself after a visit to the Amazon. She believes the climate crisis is the most urgent global problem we are collectively facing today and that RFUS’s work is a logical approach to protecting forests in a way that respects the people and wisdom that they hold. Marina has an entrepreneurial background and has founded several companies, including a matchmaking service in NYC. Her passions lie in exploring consciousness, music and art, and she lives in Brooklyn with her pets.

Viviana Briseño
Development Operations Manager

Viviana Briseño Márquez manages the planning and operational optimization of Rainforest Foundation US’s fundraising efforts. A passionate visual communicator and committed animal rights activist, she co-founded the Fundación de Protección Animal (FUPA), a Mexican organization committed to animal welfare, where she volunteers as a digital consultant. She holds a Master’s in Conservation and Education from Miami University. Born and raised in Mexico, she is a native Spanish speaker and is learning German.

Maryka Ives Paquette
Communications Manager

Maryka Ives Paquette leads Rainforest Foundation US’s communications portfolio. She brings to the organization 10 years’ experience, including 5 years at the UN, advancing climate, forest, and development policy with particular focus on indigenous peoples’ rights, advocacy and engagement. Additionally, she supports a global network of indigenous cultural practitioners pursuing projects rooted in traditional, earth-based sciences. She holds a Master’s of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy with a focus on indigenous peoples’ rights from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs as well as a Master’s in Indigenous Mind. She speaks Spanish, rusty Italian and is learning French.

Laura Piccoli
Program and Communications Associate

Laura joined Rainforest Foundation US in May 2020 after completing her Master’s in Global Affairs at New York University, with a concentration in Energy and Environment Policy and a specialization in Data Analysis. Before pursuing her Master’s, Laura earned her BFA in Drama from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. She is an associate member of the Rude Grooms, a Queens-based theater company that brings free and low-cost productions of Shakespeare to underserved communities. Laura has a particular interest in blending art and environmentalism, and she is eagerly working on her Spanish.

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Gabriela De Jesus
Community Engagement Specialist

Gabriela De Jesus supports Rainforest Foundation US’s communications by elevating the voices of indigenous peoples in Central and South America with creative content and digital engagement. Formerly, Gabriela supported numerous communications, civic engagement and community organizing initiatives, including for Congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, after running for Florida State Representative herself in 2019. Gabriela is passionate about socioeconomic sustainability, food security, and human health. She holds a Master’s of Public Administration with a focus in International and Comparative Public Administration and Latin American Studies from Florida International University’s School of International and Public Affairs. As a Dominican-Puerto Rican, Gabriela is proud of her ancestral Taino roots. She speaks Spanish, English, and Portuguese.