Andrew Steer

President and CEO, WRI

Andrew Steer is President and CEO of the World Resources Institute. Before joining this global research organization, he held various positions at the World Bank: most recently he served as the Bank’s Special Envoy for Climate Change from Prior to that Andrew Steer had served as Director General at the UK Department of International Development (DFID) in London. Andrew Steer also serves on the Executive Board of the UN Secretary General’s Sustainable Energy For All initiative and is Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Natural Capital – among other positions. Mr. Steer is a Non-Resident Professor of Practice of Climate Policy and Development at the Fletcher School’s Center for International Environment & Resource Policy at Tufts University.

Sônia Guajajara

Brazilian politician and activist,

Sônia Guajajara is among the most prominent indigenous leaders of Brazil. For many years, she has been on the forefront of the country's indigenous and environmental movement. Her work against deforestation and land grabbing in indigenous territories on the national level, has brought her international attention. Sônia regularly participates in international fora, such as the UN Human Rights Council and the UN Climate Negotiations. Sônia's home lies in the indigenous territory Arariboia in Northeastern Brazil. She coordinates Brazil's biggest indigenous organisation, the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (ABIP).

Benki Piyãko

Ashaninka Community Leader, Terra Kampa do Rio Amônia

Benki Piyãko is a political authority and is held in high esteem both at home and internationally. He actively participates in important initiatives of his people, the Ashaninka, especially in the defense of their country and in the construction of educational centers to train local communities. He supports indigenous peoples in defending their land against exploitation by outsiders, he also teaches them optimized methods of soil management and illustrates how to use natural resources while preserving a unique ecosystem rich in species. Among the many projects that Benki Piyãko has led is the creation of the Yorenka Ãtame (“Knowledge of the Forest”) Center, with the aim of providing hundreds of communities in Brazil and Peru with an environmental management and conservation model based on the knowledge handed down by indigenous peoples. In his new project Beija flor (“Ko- libri”), Benki Piyãko works with non-indigenous communities. The aim is to reforest degraded areas on the border between Brazil and Peru and to create jobs in the region while at the same time training young people in sustainable farming methods.

Gabriel Quijandría Acosta

Vice Minister, Strategic Development of Natural Resources, Peru

Gabriel Quijandría Acosta has a Master Degree in Natural Resources Management of INCAE Business School Alajuela in Costa Rica. He is a recognized expert in environmental matters and in the management of natural resources and with extensive experience in different institutions promoting the development of the Latin American region. In addition, he has experience in matters of policy and environmental management, financing of sustainable development, conservation of biodiversity and climate change. In his field of research, he developed studies oriented to the design of policies and in training and teaching activities, both at the university level and as decision maker in the public and private sectors. Since December 2011, he has held the position of Vice Minister of Strategic Development of Natural Resources of the Ministry of Environment.

Manuel Pulgar-Vidal Otalora

Leader, Climate and Energy Practice, WWF International

Cristina Mittermeier

Photographer and marine biologist , SeaLegacy

Cristina Mittermeier is a photographer and marine biologist who for the past 25 years has been working as a writer, conservationist and photographer. She graduated from the ITESM University in Mexico with a degree in Biochemical Engineering in Marine Sciences and later attended the Fine Art Photography program at the Corcoran College for the Arts in Washington, D.C. In 2005, she founded the prestigious International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP) to provide a platform for photographers working on environmental issues. In 2015 she co-founded SeaLegacy, a non-profit dedicated to promoting the protection of the world’s oceans through storytelling. Cristina’s work has been published in hundreds of publications, including National Geographic Magazine, McLean’s and TIME. In 2010 Mittermeier was awarded the Mission Award from the North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA) and the Smithsonian Conservation Photographer of the Year Award. In 2016 she received the Imaging Award for Photographers who Give Back. She is a member of the World Photographic Academy. Cristina is a Sony Artisan of Imagery, is recognized as one of the World’s top 40 Most Influential Outdoor Photographers by Outdoor Magazine and was named one of National Geographic’s 2018 Adventurers of the Year.

Yolanda Kakabadse Navarro

Former Minister of Environment for Ecuador,

Ms. Kakabadse was Minister of Environment for Ecuador and served as NGO Liaison Officer for the United Nations Conference for Environment and Development (the Rio Earth Summit) in 1992. She is also former President of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) (1996 - 2004) and former President of WWF International (2010 – 2017). She was the first Executive Director of Fundacion Natura in Ecuador and in 1993 she founded Fundacion Futuro Latinoamericano. Ms. Kakabadse is a Member of the Board of several national and international organizations of Civil Society and the Private Sector.

Mark J. Plotkin

President and Board member , Amazon Conservation Team

Dr. Plotkin had led ACT and guided its vision since 1996, when he co-founded the organization with his fellow conservationist, Liliana Madrigal. He is a renowned ethnobotanist who has spent almost three decades studying traditional plant use with traditional healers of tropical America. Dr. Plotkin has previously served as Research Associate in Ethnobotanical Conservation at the Botanical Museum of Harvard University; Director of Plant Conservation at the World Wildlife Fund; Vice President of Conservation International; and Research Associate at the Department of Botany of the Smithsonian Institution. Among his many influential writings, Dr. Plotkin may be best known for his popular work Tales of a Shaman's Apprentice (1994), which has been printed continuously and has been published in multiple languages. Other works include the critically acclaimed children's book The Shaman's Apprentice - A Tale of the Amazon Rainforest, illustrated by Lynne Cherry, and Medicine Quest: In Search of Nature's Healing Secrets. His most recent book, The Killers Within: The Deadly Rise of Drug-Resistant Bacteria, coauthored with Michael Shnayerson, was selected as a Discover Magazine book of the year. In 1998, he played a leading role in the Academy Award-nominated IMAX film Amazon. Dr. Plotkin's work also has been featured in a PBS Nova documentary, in an Emmy-winning Fox TV documentary, on the NBC Nightly News and Today Show, CBS' 48 Hours and in Life, Newsweek, Smithsonian, Elle, People, The New York Times, along with appearances on National Public Radio. Time magazine called him an "Environmental Hero for the Planet" (2001) and Smithsonian magazine hailed him as one of "35 Who Made a Difference" (2005), along with Bill Gates, Steven Spielberg, and fellow New Orleanian Wynton Marsalis. Dr. Plotkin has received the San Diego Zoo Gold Medal for Conservation; the Roy Chapman Andrews Distinguished Explorer Award; an International Conservation Leadership award from the Jane Goodall Institute; and, with Liliana Madrigal, the Skoll Foundation’s Award for Social Entrepreneurship. In 2010, he received the honorary degree of "Doctor of Humane Letters" from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. Dr. Plotkin was educated at Harvard, Yale and Tufts University.

Carlos Manuel Rodriguez

CEO and Chairperson, Global Environment Facility

Lawyer by profession, politician by choice, and conservationist at heart, Carlos Manuel Rodriguez was elected as CEO and Chairperson of the Global Environment Facility by its governing body, the GEF Council, in June 2020. The former Costa Rican Environment and Energy Minister was a pioneer in the development of Payment for Ecosystem Services initiatives and strategies for forest restoration, ocean conservation, and de-carbonization, and is an internationally recognized expert on environmental policy, multilateral environmental negotiations, and financing for nature conservation. During his three terms as Minister of Environment and Energy, Costa Rica doubled the size of its forests, made its electric sector 100 percent clean and renewable, and consolidated a National Park System that has positioned the Central American country as a prime ecotourism destination.

Alec Baldwin

Actor and Environmental Activist

Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor, writer, producer, and comedian. Baldwin first gained recognition appearing on seasons 6 and 7 of the CBS television drama Knots Landing, in the role of Joshua Rush. He has played both leading and supporting roles in films such as the horror comedy fantasy film Beetlejuice (1988), as Jack Ryan in the action thriller The Hunt for Red October (1990), the romantic comedy The Marrying Man (1991), and two films directed by Martin Scorsese: the Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator (2004) and the neo-noir crime drama The Departed (2006). His performance in the 2003 romantic drama The Cooler garnered him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. From 2006 to 2013, Baldwin starred as Jack Donaghy on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock, winning two Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and seven Screen Actors Guild Awards for his work on the show, making him the male performer with the most SAG Awards. Baldwin co-starred in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, the fifth instalment of the Mission: Impossible series, released on July 31, 2015. He is also a columnist for The Huffington Post. Since 2016, he has been the host of Match Game. He has received worldwide attention and acclaim for his portrayal of Donald Trump on the long-running sketch series Saturday Night Live, both during the 2016 U.S. presidential election and following the inauguration, a role for which he won a Primetime Emmy in 2017. During his 2010–2013 stint as a spokesperson for Capital One, Baldwin's contract was written to fund Baldwin's charity foundation. He was paid $15 million over nearly five years. After taxes and accounting fees, the remainder, $14.125 million, was given to charity. In March 2011, Baldwin donated $1 million to the New York Philharmonic (on whose board he served), and $500,000 to the Roundabout Theatre Company, where he has performed plays in New York.

Rayanne Cristine Máximo Franca

Indigenous Baré of Brazilian Amazon

Rayanne Cristine Maximo Franca is part of the Indigenous Youth Network from Brazil. She recently participated, as part of Brazil’s official delegation, in the 61st session of the CSW that discussed “The empowerment of indigenous women” as an emerging issue. She also participated and the 16th session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and talked to UN Women about the pressing issues that concern indigenous young women in Brazil. As part of a UN Women project, Voice of Indigenous women, generously funded by the Indigenous Peoples Programme of the Embassy of Norway, Ms. Franca has organized and gathered the perspectives of young indigenous women in Brazil to be included in the first national agenda for indigenous women. Her story is related to Sustainable Development Goal 5, that aims for the empowerment of all women and girls, their equal rights, leadership and participation; as well as SDG 3, which aims to ensure health and wellbeing, including universal access to sexual and reproductive health.