Working closely with the board of trustees, Jessica is responsible for setting and carrying out the foundation’s strategic direction. She also oversees our international grantmaking. She has extensive experience with community-based conservation globally, having worked in the Caribbean, Mesoamerica, Andean South America, Africa, Asia, Central Europe, and the Balkans. Before joining the foundation in 2009, Jessica was senior vice president for international programs at the Quebec-Labrador Foundation/Atlantic Center for the Environment. Jessica chairs the Protected Landscapes Specialist Group of IUCN’s World Commission on Protected Areas and is a member of the ICOMOS/IFLA International Scientific Committee on Cultural Landscapes. Her current and recent board service includes Terralingua, International Funders for Indigenous Peoples, and New England International Donors. She is an associate member of the Graduate Faculty of Rutgers University (Cultural Heritage and Preservation Studies) and recently served as guest faculty for international capacity-building workshops of the World Heritage Leadership Programme. She holds degrees from Clark University (International Development) and Brown University (Biology and Environmental Studies). Her most recent publications can be read on researchgate.

Deborah is responsible for the operational and fiscal management of the foundation. She also serves as the foundation’s point person on all local grantmaking. Deb has worked in the nonprofit sector for more than 20 years in various fundraising, programmatic, and management roles and primarily for organizations supporting community-led environmental initiatives. She volunteers on a number of such initiatives in her community and holds a master’s in marine resource management from the University of Rhode Island.