THOMAS LOVEJOY AMAZON BIODIVERSITY CENTER

Mark O’Donnell advises high net worth families on family office issues, including governance, family office operations and procedures, inter-generational change, and trust and estates strategies. A passionate environmentalist, Mark is the Board Chair and a founding Board member of the Thomas Lovejoy Amazon Biodiversity Center (TLABC). He is also on the Board of Amazon Forest Survey Association (ALFA), the sister non-profit to TLABC located in Brazil. In addition, Mark is a Board member and Treasurer with Save the Chimps, a non-profit organization in Florida with a mission to provide sanctuary and exemplary care to chimpanzees in need.

Michelle is the Founder and Principal of Biosphere Strategies, a boutique consulting firm specializing in work focused on science, sustainability, climate and the environment. Biosphere Strategies works with government, academia and industry on the use of science and knowledge to design and implement environmental policies, plans and strategies. Michelle recently served as the executive director of the Global Council for Science and the Environment, an international nonprofit that spans the boundaries between science, decision-making and the environment. She has worked on clean energy, climate and environmental policy with all levels of government for over two decades, developing strategic and tactical solutions to implement energy, climate and sustainability strategies and solutions. Before joining GCSE, she served as the Director of Intergovernmental Affairs at the U.S. Department of Energy. She led the Governors’ Accord for a Clean Energy Future, as well as two international nonprofits– Applied Solutions-Local Governments Building a Clean Economy, and ICLEI USA. Earlier in her career, she helped design and launch a public sector law practice at a major international law firm focused on proactive environmental work, served as the natural resources director for the City of Fort Collins, Colorado, and recycling coordinator for the City of Euless, Texas, and as a park ranger with the National Park Service. Michelle serves in a variety of board and advisory roles with domestic and international organizations to increase the recognition of and reliance on science in service to the environment and society. Michelle holds a Master’s in Public Administration from New York University, a Bachelor of Science in Journalism, and a Bachelor of the Arts in German Literature from the University of Texas, Austin. She also received an International Diploma in Urban Ecology and Sustainable Development from the University of Copenhagen.

One of Tom Lovejoy's three daughters, Betsy graduated from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and Hygiene in 1998 with a Master of Health Science, Social Science and Public Health Track. Betsy's career began with the Brazil Program at Conservation International, where she was the Field Assistant for the Kayapo Project in Brazil and the Project Manager for the Healthy Communities Initiative in Washington D.C. Since then, Betsy has applied her development and non-profit management skills as the Executive Director of Girls on the Run - DC before becoming an independent Grant Writer and Strategic Planning advisor. Like her father, Betsy is an avid birder and nature lover, and she spends as much time as she can enjoying both in her travels and in Rock Creek Park next to her home in Washington D.C.

Jim is Professor of climate adaptation in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment at the University of Arizona, where his research focuses on mechanisms to incorporate scientifically-based findings of projected impacts of climate variability and change into international development decisions. He also serves as Strategy Advisor to University of Arizona Senior Leadership and as Associate Director of the Arizona Aegis Consortium for a Pandemic Free Future. Jim was Founding Director of the Arizona Institute for Resilient Environments and Societies, and past Chairman of the Boards of Directors at Second Nature, Inc. and the Global Council for Science and the Environment, and has served on the boards of several other national and international environmental non-profit organizations. Jim has worked in over 20 countries across the globe, and his 4-decade career has included leadership roles at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Washington, D.C., and at the Arizona State University.

Raul is a partner with the law firm Arnold & Porter. His work concentrates on international matters, with particular emphasis in international corporate and financing transactions in Latin America and the Caribbean. With the depth of his regional experience, Mr. Herrera is often called to resolve client disputes throughout Latin America. Previously he served as the general counsel of the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IDB Invest), and in 2017 he served in South Korea as the Interim General Counsel of the Green Climate Fund. In addition, Raul has experience in international arbitration matters. He speaks Spanish and is conversant in Portuguese. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Society for the Advancement of the Art Museum of the Americas and on the Advisory Council of the GWU’s Global Women’s Institute. Raul is a graduate of the George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs (B.A.) and its Law School (JD).

A native of Dallas, Texas, Stephanie attended the University of Texas at Austin, graduating with a BBA in Finance. After graduation, she studied at Sotheby’s in London and subsequently worked in the Dallas office. Two years later, Stephanie joined the energy research group of the investment bank Wasserstein Perella, continuing her financial work until 1997. She then moved to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, as co-owner of The Gun Barrel Steakhouse. In 2009, Stephanie and her husband Hunter co-founded the Hunt Institute for Engineering & Humanity within SMU’s Lyle School of Engineering. The Hunt Institute is dedicated to bringing technology-driven solutions to improve the lives of those in extreme poverty, and to developing a new generation of engineers who will apply their talents to the challenges facing the global poor.

José is a Brazilian businessman and one of the three sons of the late communications tycoon Roberto Marinho. José and his brothers inherited control of Grupo Globo, Brazil's largest media group. Marinho heads up the Roberto Marinho Foundation, the family's philanthropy arm, which supports educational and cultural causes. He is the president of Roberto Marinho Foundation and vice-president of Grupo Globo. He is a current trustee of Rare, an international conservation organization based in the United States, member of the Latin America Conservation Council with the Nature Conservancy, and President of Instituto Humanize in Brazil.

Scott traces his fascination for birds and other animals back to his teenage years as a student at Millbrook School in New York, where learned animal husbandry and falconry at the school’s Trevor Zoo. After graduating from college, Scott embarked on a career as a global-minded environmentalist. The first non-UK citizen to work at England’s Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust (now Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust), Scott cared for a captive lemur population. From there he helped develop a conservation training program for international field workers. Back stateside in Washington, DC, Scott coordinated education outreach programs for the Friends of the National Zoo. He later partnered with aviculturists and veterinarians on pioneering bird conservation in Florida and established his own captive breeding facility for endangered parrots. Scott has furthered his education through travel—to the Lower Amazon with our founder, the late Dr. E. Thomas Lovejoy and to Madagascar with paleoanthropologist Dr. Ian Tattersall. Scott is Board Chair of the Lemur Conservation Foundation and serves on the boards of Hitchcock Woods Foundation (the largest urban forest in the United States) in Aiken, SC, and Asheville GreenWorks, an environmental citizen action group. As a volunteer facilitator for Hopital Albert Schweitzer in Deschapelles, Haiti, he helps the hospital meet the needs of the disadvantaged community it serves.

Alex built, and now manages, a cutting edge trading and portfolio construction team at Acadian, one of the top institutional asset management firms in Boston. He is one of the firm’s Directors, serving on the Executive Committee. Alex joined Acadian from Gartmore, where he first built a technology infrastructure, underpinning a systematic hedge fund trading strategy, and then moved to design, and manage, a next-generation investment strategy as a Portfolio Manager. Prior to Gartmore, he worked as a software engineer first in the former USSR and then in Canada, UK and the US. His background is in software engineering and mathematics. Alex has a proven track record in designing and executing high impact business strategies. He is recognized as a strong team builder and a leader. He is an avid athlete, having been part of the Olympic Reserve swimming team in the former USSR. Alex speaks fluent English, Russian and basic Portuguese.