Keynote Speakers

Valerie Hickey
Practice Manager, Environment, Natural Resources and Blue Economy for Latin America and the Caribbean, World Bank

Valerie worked across the Bank, providing design and implementation support to a variety of operations across the world, including in fragile states, where she led the Bank's environment portfolio in Haiti following the earthquake in 2010. As chair of the biodiversity and wildlife crime communities of practice, Valerie represents the World Bank in international conventions related to biodiversity. She also leads the Bank's work on two global biodiversity grant-making operations, namely the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund and the Save Our Species Program. Valerie holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Policy from Duke University and a Master of Arts in negotiations from Notre Dame.

Gustavo Alberto Fonseca
Director of Programs, Global Environment Facility (GEF)

Dr. Fonseca is the Director of Programs at the Global Environment Facility. Responsibilities include overseeing the portfolio of investments in biodiversity, climate change mitigation and adaptation, forests and REDD+, transboundary marine and freshwater conservation, chemicals and sustainable land management. A tenured Professor at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) in Brazil, he was the first Executive Director of Center for Applied Biodiversity before becaming the Chief Conservation and Science Officer of Conservation International. He holds a Master's degree in Latin American Studies and a Ph.D. in Forest Management and Conservation from the University of Florida. He published close to 170 publications articles and books. He received the Oliver Austin Award of the University of Florida’s State Museum for outstanding research in the natural sciences, the Environmental Protection Award of Government of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, the Distinguished Service Recognition award from the Brazil Biodiversity Fund (Funbio), and the Golden Ark Award, an official order of the Dutch government, the highest environment award of the Netherlands.

Mark Zimsky
Biodiversity Focal Area and Latin America Regional Coordinator, Global Environment Facility (GEF)

Mark Zimsky has 30 years’ experience in more than 40 countries developing national biodiversity strategies, designing biodiversity conservation projects for national, regional and global-level execution, and implementing sustainable agriculture, natural resources management, and conservation projects at the national and community level. He has worked for a wide variety of institutions including UNDP, UNEP, the US Peace Corps, and NGOs such as Ecology Action of the Mid-peninsula, and ACDI-VOCA. Prior to coming to the GEF in 2004, Mark served as the Senior Programme Officer for Biodiversity at UNEP/GEF. At the GEF Mark serves as the Biodiversity Focal Area Coordinator. In addition, he is the Regional Coordinator for Latin America.