Paige Brown
CEFG Program Director
Albert Buixadé Farré
Director of Finance and Operations
Cristina Castiglioni
Data Analysis and Member Engagement Specialist
Eglé Flores
Mexico Conservation Funders Program Manager
Judy Hatcher
Executive Director
Lisa Pawlek Jaguzny
Senior Program Director
Denise Luk
Membership Coordinator
Gerald Reese
Communications & IT Specialist
Alicia Srinivas
Global Conservation Manager/Funders of the Amazon Basin Coordinator
Kyla Van Maanen
Program Fellow
Megan Waterman
CEFG Program Outreach Associate
Paige Brown
CEFG Program Director
Paige Brown is the Program Director for the Climate and Energy Funders Group at Biodiversity Funders Group where she works with funders to facilitate collaboration and expand the field of climate and energy philanthropy. Paige Brown most recently served as the Senior Program Manager for the Natural Assets and Environmental Equity program at the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED) where she focused on natural asset-based strategies that both improve environmental stewardship and promote economic development. Previously, she was the Climate Change Program Director at Redefining Progress (RP), where she led the successful effort to promote auctioning permits under trading, rather than giveaways. Before RP, Ms. Brown was a research analyst at the World Resources Institute, where she worked on incentive-based measures for biodiversity protection. Ms. Brown served as a lead author on an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report on the role of forests and land use change in climate change, which led to her receiving a share of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.
Albert Buixadé Farré
Director of Finance and Operations
Albert holds a BA in Business Administration, a master’s degree in international relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and is a Certified Public Accountant. As a management and administration professional he has several years of experience in public and private accounting, primarily serving non-profit organizations. He has also worked in corporate governance, investment management, and organizational development. As an international relations practitioner his goal is to develop and synthesize an understanding of the interdependencies of economic development, international politics, energy, human rights, and environment, with the purpose of shaping better policymaking and resource allocation. He leads New Economy initiatives at Biodiversity Funders Group.
Cristina Castiglioni
Data Analysis and Member Engagement Specialist
Cristina first joined Biodiversity Funders Group as an Intern while completing her master’s degree in International Relations at San Francisco State University. During her graduate studies, Cristina paid particular attention to the intrinsic connection of environmental issues as they relate to economic development with a specific focus on conflict outbursts in Colombia and the Middle East. In addition to her master’s degree, she holds a bachelor of the arts in Languages and Literature from the University of Milan and is proficient in Italian, Spanish and German. Cristina is particularly interested in animal welfare and in further exploring the connections between current environmental issues and our global economic system.
Eglé Flores
Mexico Conservation Funders Program Manager
Eglé is a biologist with 10 years experience in the design and management of collective impact initiatives. Before joining the Biodiversity Funders Group, she worked as Regional Coordinator at Fundación Ciudadanía Inteligente (FCI), where she led the transfer of advocacy abilities and tools to over 130 activists and decision makers in 10 Latin American countries through the School of Advocacy and LabCívico methodologies. Eglé also co-led the Kanan Kay Alliance, a multisectoral collaboration initiative that achieved official protection of 16,000 hectares of marine ecosystems in the Mexican Caribbean. She has worked as Organizational Development Coordinator in Comunidad y Biodiversidad (COBI) and as Program Officer at the Mesoamerican Reef Leadership Program. Eglé is an active member at the boards of COBI and FCI. She has special interest in sharing diversity, equity and inclusion good practices at her work spaces.
Judy Hatcher
Executive Director
Judy began working with community organizing and social justice groups in Chicago in the 1980s, before serving as a public information officer and a regional director at Amnesty International USA, a development officer at the Center for Community Change, and an organizational consultant to scores of nonprofits around the country. She was executive director at the Environmental Support Center, and executive director of Pesticide Action Network (PAN) North America. Judy was first introduced to philanthropy while on the staff of the Crossroads Fund. Later she led the national grantmaking program at the Funding Exchange and served on the boards of directors of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, the Black Philanthropic Alliance and other philanthropic institutions. She is currently chair of the Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation and serves on the board of Coming Clean, Inc. A graduate of Northwestern University, Judy has certificates in nonprofit leadership from Naropa University, Rockwood Leadership Institute, and the East Bay Meditation Center.
Lisa Pawlek Jaguzny
Senior Program Director
Lisa joins the Biodiversity Funders Group as Senior Program Director after a long career in leadership roles in various sectors of the conservation community. She has recently led Oxbow Farm & Conservation Center, where she transformed the 240 acre farm into a force for promoting climate resilient practices through regenerative agriculture and environmental stewardship. Prior to Oxbow, Lisa led the Campion Foundation where she served as CEO for nearly 10 years and created the Campion Advocacy Fund, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit focused on protecting US public lands and fostering indigenous-led campaigns to protect Alaska’s lands and waters. Lisa served as Deputy Director for People For Puget Sound for 11 years, during which time she led the campaign that resulted in the protection of more than 1,000 miles of Puget Sound shorelines. Lisa has served as a Board Member for the Western Conservation Foundation and the Biodiversity Funders Group. She holds a BA from Trinity College, and an Executive MBA Certificate from Stanford University’s Center for Social Innovation.
Denise Luk
Membership Coordinator
Denise promotes peer-to-peer learning and the sharing of knowledge among our foundation community at BFG. Previously, she worked at Meyer Memorial Trust funding Oregon’s environmental nonprofits as a part of the Philanthropy Northwest Momentum Fellowship Program. Denise spent about a decade working in the areas of animal welfare, grassroots community advocacy, and environmental and administrative law. She partnered with organizations in the Pacific Northwest and nationwide, such as the Animal Law Clinic at Lewis and Clark Law School and Socially Responsible Agricultural Project, on sustainable farming issues and fighting the abusive practices of large-scale industrial agriculture. She graduated with a J.D. from University of San Francisco School of Law and a B.A. in English from University of California, Berkeley. Denise loves to sing, create art, and explore the world with her human and canine family.
Gerald Reese
Communications & IT Specialist
Gerald most recently worked as the facility manager/ webmaster with the Oakland Asian Cultural Center. He also spent several years as the webmaster for the Oakland Museum of California, as well as various roles with the City of Oakland. Prior to becoming interested in technology and design, Gerald had a long career in professional theater, including serving as the production manager for the University of Delaware's Professional Theater Training Program, as well as the Oakland Ensemble Theater. He has a BA in Theater/Film production from Columbia College Chicago, and has done graduate work in Media Studies. He has recently been active in local politics, focusing particularly in the areas of affordable housing and mass transportation.
Alicia Srinivas
Global Conservation Manager/Funders of the Amazon Basin Coordinator
Alicia joins BFG with over twelve years experience working in international conservation. She holds a bachelor’s degree from UCLA and a master’s degree in Conservation Biology from Columbia University, where she did her thesis research on the effects of oil palm plantations on bird communities in the Peruvian Amazon. Alicia previously worked as Program Manager for the Wildlife Conservation Society (first in New York, and later at their Ecuador office), and as Associate Program Manager for the Coral Reef Alliance. From 2007 to 2009, she served as a Peace Corps volunteer in a small, rural community on the northern coast of the Dominican Republic. Alicia loves animals and is passionate about birds, wildlife rehabilitation, and tropical biodiversity. She is endlessly fascinated with the Amazon region for its biological and cultural diversity, unique conservation challenges, and interconnectedness with global systems. At Biodiversity Funders Group, she devotes 80% of her time to Funders of the Amazon Basin (FAB).
Kyla Van Maanen
Program Fellow
With a professional and academic background in marine science, environmental studies, and the fine arts, Kyla Van Maanen joins the Biodiversity Funders Group as the part-time Program Fellow, supporting the Marines and Land and Fresh Water Programs and the planning and execution of their respective annual meetings. After six years working in artist and art gallery management in Los Angeles, Kyla was compelled to switch directions and pursue a career in marine research and conservation to further efforts to mitigate climate change and adapt in the Anthropocene. Kyla holds a BA in environmental studies from Pitzer College and an MS in marine biology from Northeastern University. Her master’s thesis research was on UNFCCC-financed coastal climate change adaptation actions in developing countries and their contribution to adaptive capacity building. Previously, Kyla worked as the Program Manager for Research Partnerships at the Global Resilience Institute where she managed the Global Resilience Research Network, a consortium of international and interdisciplinary professionals and researchers from academia, industry, and government. Kyla has also worked in marine mammal rehabilitation on California’s central coast and in environmental data design consulting. Kyla is the lead marine biologist on a passion project creating and monitoring underwater art installations that act as artificial reefs in the British Virgin Islands. She is passionate about the intersection of art, science, and technology and innovation in the oceans.