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Team Members

Melissa Panhol

Program Technical Analyst and Project CoordinatorCommunities and Territorial Governance Initiative

IN her role, Melissa focuses on conservation, ecological restoration, socio-biodiversity, and territorial governance themes. She contributes to project execution and coordination, supporting initiatives that effectively engage and benefit Indigenous Peoples, Local Communities, and Afro-descendant Peoples (IPs, LCs, and ADP) in climate and conservation finance efforts.

Before joining Forest Trends, Melissa had professional experiences in the environmental sector with Brazil’s federal government and with other national and international third sector entities. She speaks Portuguese, English, and Spanish and is passionate about the bridging of knowledge and practice, having supported graduate-level courses on sustainability, restoration, conservation, and the production of knowledge materials in the themes of climate change and climate and conservation finance. She has a degree in Biology from the University of Brasília and a postgraduate specialization in Project Management with the University of São Paulo.

 

Debora Batista

Finance & Project ManagerCommunities and Territorial Governance Initiative

Debora has over 10 years of professional experience managing projects at NGOs. She has a post-graduate degree in social innovation from Amani Institute and a masters degree in sustainability management from Fundação Getúlio Vargas Business School. Her masters’ dissertation researched the impact of agribusiness on traditional communities in Brazil and their efforts to stop environmental degradation. She is fluent in English and Spanish in addition to her native Portuguese.

Prior to joining Forest Trends, Debora was a senior analyst at WWF-Brazil, working with deforestation and conversion-free finance. Before WWF, she was a program analyst at the Institute for Entrepreneurial Citizenship working on impact investment and social innovation and also was the co-founder of Engajamundo Youth Association, raising awareness among young people regarding social and environmental issues, including developing  a capacity-building methodology for young people to understand how to participate in the construction of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Beto Borges

DirectorCommunities and Territorial Governance Initiative

Beto was born and raised in São Paulo, Brazil, where he obtained an AA degree in industrial chemistry from Escola Técnica Oswaldo Cruz and worked as an ecotourism guide in the Atlantic rainforest, while pursuing nature photography and rock climbing. Beto holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Conservation and Resources Studies from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MBA in Strategic Leadership from the Dominican University of California. Previously, he was Director of the Brazil Program of the Rainforest Action Network, promoting forest policies, community economic development and indigenous land demarcation in the Amazon region. He also worked for Aguirre International, evaluating environmental programs for AmeriCorp-USA and was the Manager of Sustainable Harvesting at Shaman Pharmaceuticals, developing ethnobotanical drugs from rainforest medicinal plants. As the Executive Director of Adopt-A-Watershed, he worked on watershed conservation through place-based learning methodologies. Beto also was a Program Officer with the Goldman Environmental Foundation, selecting finalists for the Goldman Environmental Prize and evaluating project proposals for funding. Beto has also consulted for Aveda Cosmetics, Conservation International, Instituto Terra, Occupational Knowledge International, and Wildlife Conservation Network, and others. He was co-chair of Grantmakers Without Borders and currently sits on the board of the Global Greengrants Fund, Earth Island Institute, and the Environmental Law Defenders Center. He is fluent in Portuguese, English, and Spanish.

Marcio Halla

Local Economic Initiatives LeadCommunities and Territorial Governance Initiative

Marcio Halla leads economic indigenous governance projects and coordinates field activities in Latin America for Forest Trends’ Communities and Territorial Governance Initiative. Prior to joining Forest Trends, he implemented several sustainable development projects, working closely with Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in the Atlantic Rainforest and Amazon region. Since 1997, he has actively managed projects on agroforestry, organic agriculture, sustainable forest value chains, community-based ecotourism, and forest management and certification.  Marcio has provided auditing services for Smartwood/IMAFLORA and the Union for Ethical Bio-trade in Latin America. Marcio has also participated in several training programs related to sustainable development and management of natural resources, including the Beahrs Environmental Leadership Program at UC Berkeley and LEAD International. He graduated from São Paulo State University (UNESP) in Agronomy, and he holds a master’s degree in Territorial Planning from Santiago de Compostela University (Spain). Marcio speaks Portuguese, English, and Spanish.

Chris Van Dam

Territorial Governance LeadCommunities and Territorial Governance Initiative

Chris is a rural sociologist with a Master’s Degree in Environment and Development (FLACSO). His main field of expertise are the social, political and economic issues related to Indigenous people and local communities, throughout Latin America. Within Forest Trends’ Communities and Territorial Governance Initiative, he leads the Capacity Building Program on Indigenous Territorial Governance, which covers a broad range of aspects, including Indigenous Economy, and Life Plans. Prior to joining Forest Trends, he worked with the FAO and GIZ in community forestry projects, he was a member of the FSC Board representing the Social Chamber and was a consultant for many organizations, including DGIS (Netherlands), the EU, Inter-cooperation, Helvetas, and IUCN.