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Team Members

Fernando Leon

DirectorWater Initiative Peru

Fernando León is a leading professional in Latin America’s integration of natural infrastructure into public investment, water, and sanitation policy. He brings more than 20 years of experience in senior positions within the Peruvian public sector and international cooperation. He currently leads Investing in Nature for Water Security and Climate Resilience (INWSCR), funded by Government of Canada.

Fernando was part of the founding team of the Peruvian Ministry of the Environment (MINAM), where he served as Director General and, later, as Vice Minister of Strategic Development of Natural Resources. From these positions, he led the institutionalization of Peru’s Retribution for Ecosystem Services Mechanisms (MERESE; now a regional reference framework), the economic valuation of protected natural areas, and financial planning for biodiversity and climate. He has designed and directed projects with implementation scope in Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Mexico, and Costa Rica, financed by USAID, GIZ, SECO, and CTB, among other cooperation agencies.

Between 2010 and 2023, Fernando served concurrently on the Boards of Directors of the Fund of the Americas (FONDAM), the National Water Authority (ANA), the National Forestry and Wildlife Service (SERFOR), and the Environmental Assessment and Enforcement Agency (OEFA). He is the author and co-author of numerous technical and policy publications.

Fernando holds an MBA from the Central American Institute of Business Administration (INCAE, Costa Rica) on a MacArthur Foundation scholarship, and Ph.D. studies in international biodiversity management from the International University of Andalusia (Spain).

Angel Soto

Associate Director of Operations and FinanceForest Trends Peru

Angel has over 20 years of experience in finance and operations with international nonprofit organizations. Prior to joining Forest Trends, he held the position of Senior Manager, Global Administration at Rainforest Alliance, where he led all operational aspects of the organization in the Latin America region. Before Rainforest Alliance, Angel worked at Conservation International (CI) as the Operations Director for Mexico and Central America, where he led efforts implement financial and operational strategies for the region. He also worked at Save the Children Guatemala, leading financial and operational functions for USAID funded projects.

Mia Sakura Smith

Senior Program ManagerGlobal Water Initiative

Mia is a registered Civil Engineer with over a decade of experience in water engineering and nature-based solutions (NbS) in watersheds across Latin America and California. She recently served as lead author and project manager for the most comprehensive global report tracking investments in NbS for water, and led monitoring and evaluation for a $52 million USAID-funded project scaling natural infrastructure investments in Peru. She holds a Master’s in Environmental Engineering from MIT and is fluent in English, Spanish, and Japanese. She was raised in Honolulu, Hawaii and is currently based in Mexico City.

Fernando Momiy Hada

Senior AdvisorGlobal Water Initiative

Fernando Momiy is an internationally-recognized champion of natural infrastructure in Peru and is a Senior Advisor to the Forest Trends Water Initiative. Fernando holds an MBA and MA in Regulation of Public Services and Infrastructure Management. He has held numerous leadership positions in his nearly 25 years of government service at Peruvian infrastructure and sanitation agencies. Fernando has been the Chairman of the Board of Directors at the Latin American Association of National Water and Sanitation Regulators (ADERASA), the President of the Board of Directors of Peru’s National Superintendence of Sanitation Services (SUNASS), and Director of Investment Promotion at the Agency for Promotion of Private Investment. In these roles, he led Peru’s water sector tariff and regulatory reforms, like the incorporation of Payments for Ecosystem Services (now MERESE) into water and sanitation tariffs, as well as the creation of disaster risk prevention and climate change adaptation tariffs for water utilities. He led the establishment of a methodology for calculating groundwater tariffs and promoted the inclusion of a MERESE reserve in Public-Private Partnership (PPP) contracts. He created a regional Green Infrastructure Working Group during his time at ADERASA.

Pamela Alvarez

Project AccountantForest Trends Peru

I have a little over a year working at Forest Trends. I am a graduate of the Accounting career. I have experience in accounting and administrative work in private companies and in organisms financed by International Technical Cooperation.