Our Team

Florent Kaiser is a passionate conservation entrepreneur on a mission to implement effective solutions to scale up restoration and protection of the world’s forest ecosystems. He is the CEO of Global Forest Generation and a co-lead of Acción Andina, a large-scale, community-led forest ecosystem restoration initiative working across the Andes in South America. Acción Andina received Prince William’s Earthshot Prize in 2023 and was recognized as one of the best examples of large-scale ecosystem restoration in 2024 by the United Nations.

As a thought leader dedicated to building alliances with global partners in ecosystem restoration, Florent has been involved in over 200 forest and land use projects worldwide and has extensive knowledge in developing, financing, and scaling projects. Through his involvement in the World Economic Forum’s 1t.org Trillion Tree Campaign and the Global Partnership for Landscape Restoration, Florent helps to create transformative ecosystem solutions with on-the-ground partners and implementers.

Raised in Southeast Asia, Anna has worked on environmental and social development projects in several countries, including Mexico, Bolivia, India, Kenya, South Africa, and Malawi. She studied in the USA, Argentina and the Netherlands, and holds Masters in Business Administration, and Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health. Calling Mexico home for the last several years, Anna joined GFG’s development team in 2021 with a strong track record in project management, operations, and partnership development.

Stephanie has worked in biodiversity conservation for over 15 years. Prior to joining Global Forest Generation, she was IUCN’s Program Officer for Biodiversity Management for South America, where she oversaw biodiversity conservation projects that required global coordination and responsibility for technical and budget execution, as well as monitoring and evaluation. Before that, at Ecuador’s Ministry of Environment, she coordinated the Protected Areas Unit and led the MRV (Measurement, Reporting, Verification) component for REDD+.  Her experience overseeing conservation projects, with a special focus on protected and conserved areas of South America, includes extensive collaboration with national and subnational governments, Indigenous peoples, local communities, and NGO’s. Stephanie has Masters degrees in Socio-Ecological Sustainability as well as Environmental, Economic & Social Sustainability with a specialization in Ecological Economics. She completed complementary studies in Landscape Governance, Economic Tools for Conservation and Management of Environmental Projects.

Catherine has over three decades of experience working in the nonprofit sector and holds a Masters of Nonprofit Management from Seattle University. Prior to coming to GFG, Catherine was the Director of Advancement for Cary Institute of Ecosystem Science where she oversaw fundraising and communications. She serves on the boards of Adirondack Mountain Club and Children’s Home of Poughkeepsie.

Catherine started her career working in nonprofits providing emergency human services. A love of the trails brought her to working and volunteering on behalf of the outdoors. She likes to run marathons, ski, hike, and recently took up cycling.

Jan is originally from Pulaski, a small town in upstate New York near Lake Ontario. She earned her AAS in Equine Studies from Cazenovia College, NY before continuing her education, earning her BA in English and Creative Writing at SUNY Fredonia. She moved to South Carolina to take a position as the Breeding Manager at a large horse farm outside of Columbia, SC. She later explored other career fields including Sales/Marketing and Print Media and Publishing. Most recently, before accepting her position as Administrative and HR Assistant at GFG, she was the Administrative Coordinator at the Turtle Survival Alliance for over five years, where she also served as the Board Secretary. Her love for nature and wildlife drives her passion for the conservation field.

Kathleen McGibbon studied International Relations at the University of Wales, Swansea, Wales, UK and Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, where she was granted a Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science.

She began her nonprofit career at Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, working in the development and media departments for six years, including as a Project Manager. She subsequently was engaged with animal welfare nonprofits across the U.S., including Kindness Ranch Animal Sanctuary and Viva Rescue.  She was Development Director for Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary.

Abby Phillips Metzger is a storyteller and author with a specialty in Earth sciences and natural resources. For almost a decade she directed communications and led a team in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University. Abby holds an honors bachelor’s degree in English (Spanish minor) and a master’s in environmental sciences. She is the author of Meander Scars, a series of essays about river restoration; and a co-editor of Wild in the Willamette, a collection of outdoor adventures. Her writing has been recognized as a top pick for the Best Shortform Science Writing and the Best of the Northwest Science Writing Awards. When not working, you might find her paddling a river, hiking the woods, or camping with her family in the wilds of Oregon.

Isabella graduated from the University of Florida with Bachelor’s degrees in Sustainability Studies and International Studies, where she began advocating for climate change and environmental justice communities. This led her to become a member of the inaugural class of Columbia University’s Climate School, earning a Master’s in Climate and Society. Prior to joining GFG, Isabella worked as a Social Media Associate for The Climate Reality Project and was the Communications Officer for AIMES, a project of Future Earth. She believes that the way to ignite passion for sustainability is through education.

Upon joining the Board of Directors of World Land Trust US in 2013, Leslie Danoff was the moving force behind its successful rebranding. As a result of her leadership, the conservation nonprofit became Rainforest Trust and was able to significantly enlarge its strategic vision. Revenue increased tenfold during Leslie’s four-year tenure on the Board. While serving as a Board member, she worked pro-bono to develop Rainforest Trust’s communications and outreach capacity.

Leslie’s professional highlights as a broadcast journalist include working with Bill Moyers in public television and with Walter Cronkite at CBS News on Election Night. At CBS, she worked on news specials and documentaries and developed multi-part series for the Morning News, such as Trade-Offs Between the Environment and Economy. At New York’s public television station, WNET, she won an Emmy for a public affairs series devoted to critical New York City issues. Leslie is an independent documentary filmmaker and a 1973 graduate of the first class of women at Yale.

Jim Brumm was a member of the board of directors of Mitsubishi Corporation in Japan and was Executive Vice President & General Counsel of their U.S. subsidiary, Mitsubishi International Corporation.  He also served on the board of Tembec, Inc., a publicly traded Canadian forest products company, for 15 years. Over the last 20 years at Mitsubishi, Jim became deeply involved in handling environmental, human rights and indigenous peoples issues worldwide for the corporation.

He has a deep interest in and a commitment to sustainable solutions to the environmental and social issues that our planet faces and needs to resolve.  In addition to Global Forest Generation, Jim currently serves on a number of non-profit boards, primarily in the environmental and conservation fields, including NatureServe, where he is board chair, the International Crane Foundation, EcoAgriculture Partners and the Amazon Conservation Association. Jim previously served on the boards of Forest Trends, American Bird Conservancy, and First Peoples Worldwide, an Indigenous rights and development organization.

April Riddle Gow brings over 30 years of executive experience in corporate marketing, strategic communications, and nonprofit leadership. She has advised U.S. and international organizations on brand development, fundraising, and program strategy, with a recent focus on supporting global NGOs expanding their reach in the U.S.

Her work spans environmental sustainability, including a multi-year project with Panama’s Minister of Tourism on a sustainable development plan for Indigenous communities. In the corporate sector, she held roles with Alfa Romeo, Toyota, Estée Lauder, and Aetna, and has led or founded several nonprofit arts organizations, including the American Friends of the London Symphony Orchestra and Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra.

In addition to serving on the Board of Global Forest Generation, she is on the boards of Network 20/20, Urban Stages, and People’s Symphony Concerts, and is an advisor to the Asia Scotland Institute and the UN Hospitality Committee. A dual U.S.-UK citizen, she lives in Southport, Connecticut, and Edinburgh, Scotland.

Kelly Grier has extensive experience in corporate governance and in advising the CEO’s and boards of many of the world’s largest companies. Her election by fellow EY Partners to be CEO of the US Firm and Americas Area as well as Chair of EY’s Board reflects her deep expertise in audit quality, financial reporting, leadership development, and ESG. During Kelly’s term as CEO (which included the pandemic), EY delivered record growth.

As a current Board member of ITW, she is intensely focused on corporate governance, strategic alliances, entrepreneurship, innovation and transformation. Additional Board memberships include the Peterson Institute for International Economics and CECP (Chief Executive for Corporate Purpose), advising business leaders on corporate responsibility and sustainability, finance, and investor relations.

Kelly has been honored by Forbes as one of “the up and coming leaders set to revolutionize American business”, by Fortune as one of the Most Powerful Women in Business, and by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader.

During Alberto Paniagua’s tenure (1998-2018) as CEO of the private Peruvian Trust Fund for National Parks & Protected Areas (Profonanpe), he made this institution the first of its kind in Latin America to introduce international fiduciary standards into its organizational design. Profonanpe is considered a pioneer in the promotion and implementation of conservation and sustainable development projects for the benefit of Andean and Amazonian communities. Alberto’s fundraising strategy resulted in the growth of Profonanpe’s revenue from US$16 million to nearly US$240 million in non-reimbursable funds.

Under his leadership, Profonanpe in 2015 was the first entity in the Americas to be accredited as a national implementing entity (NIE) by the Green Climate Fund. Alberto also established the Cordillera Azul National Park Trust Fund, which administers financial resources from the international sale of carbon certificates.

Earlier in his career (1997), while advising UNDP (United Nations Development Program) in Peru, Alberto was responsible for the design and creation of the micro-enterprise bank, MIBANCO, to relieve poverty. Half of the banks 900,000 rural and urban clients are women whose MIBANCO loans have provided a greater ability to contribute financially to their families, including to boost their children’s educational opportunities. MIBANCO remains the banking institution with the lowest delinquency rate in Peru’s financial system.

Shaun has worked on every continent with donors, investors, entrepreneurs, non-profit organizations, and social purpose companies, scaling catalytic strategies that address intractable problems. He has 30 years of experience in private finance, philanthropy, and international rural development, leading the creation and growth of innovative for-profit and nonprofit companies that support the well-being of people and planet. His work has relied on forging blended finance strategies, business acumen, and social mission, as well as orchestrating international multi-stakeholder partnerships that have included UN agencies, government, multinational companies, and civil society organizations.

In 2012, Shaun partnered with Good Capital to establish an impact venture fund, Reinventure Capital, where he serves as a General Partner. Reinventure Capital matches capital with technology innovations to invest in growth companies led by women and people of color. In 1992, at the age of 28, Shaun co-founded and for 20 years led the nonprofit organization, EcoLogic Development Fund, to empower rural and Indigenous peoples to restore and protect tropical ecosystems by providing grants and technical assistance to grassroots organizations integrating community-led development and conservation. In 2006, he founded Pico Bonito Forests, LLC to restore tropical habitats in Honduras through reforestation commercially. Beginning in 1999, Shaun guided the launch and seven-year incubation of Root Capital that has now provided more than $1.1 billion in loans benefiting 637 small and growing businesses in Latin America and Africa.

Shaun is a Research Fellow at the Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University to innovate measuring the social impact of private investments, an advisor to the Mentor Capital Network, a nominator for the Goldman Environmental Prize, and designated as a Next Generation Leadership Fellow by the Rockefeller Foundation. He has served as a board member of Accelerating Appalachia to grow early-stage nature-based companies, International Funders for Indigenous Peoples, and Creative Action Institute.

Founder & Brand Growth Partner at PLB LAB: www.plblab.com

ESCP Business School – Major in Product Marketing

Sr Indian Journalist
Founder, TheSquirrels.In – https://thesquirrels.us/

Chief Cebador
Co-founder – Guayaki Yerba Mate – www.guayaki.com