Species Preservation Leaders – Paso Pacifico Board

Board Of Directors

Christy ReichPresident

Director of Operations, Lexington Commercial Holdings; Project Manager, Rare Equine Breed Preservation Project

Los Angeles

Christy Reich is the Director of Operations for a privately held company and farm in Thousand Oaks, California. She served in the Peace Corps from 1999-2001, focusing on developing community based eco-tourism in the coastal savannah region in the Volta Region of Ghana, West Africa. That project led to a lifelong love of bird watching which she pursues whenever the chance to travel comes along. Currently she is also working with several departments from UC Davis on preserving a rare equine breed that had been isolated on an island off the coast of Santa Barbara, California, and whose numbers are fewer than 50 left in the world.

Chris AyotteBoard Secretary & Treasurer

Internal Audit Department Senior Supervisor, Home Depot Corporation

California

Chris currently works in finance as an internal auditor. However, he has always had a passion for education and wildlife conservation. Chris has a variety of educational work experiences: for example, in 2001, after obtaining his pilots license, Chris spent time in Kenya receiving flight training from the Kenyan Wildlife Service and joined their efforts to combat poaching in Eastern Africa. More recently, he worked as a Program Leader for the Portland Public Schools Outdoor School Program, where he taught students science and interpersonal skills in an outdoor setting.

Eric PonçonBoard Member

Regional Director, ECOM Agroindustrial Corp.

Costa Rica

Eric Ponçon comes from a family tradition of farming in Central America and southern France. With a degree in agricultural economics and finance from Cornell University, he has held trading and management positions in Nicaragua, New York, Costa Rica, and Mexico. Eric has ownership interests in sustainable coffee, forestry and several small-to-medium tourism enterprises. Throughout his career, he has brought together small farmers and global buyers in public-private partnerships. Eric continues the tradition of family farming with his wife, Carolina, and their four children.

Robert DullBoard Member

Associate Professor and Chair, Earth and Environmental Science Department, California Lutheran University

California

Rob is a professor and expert in Central America’s ecological and geological history. His academic research encompasses paleoecology, paleoclimatology, natural hazards (wildfires, volcanism), climate change, and geoarchaeology in Mesoamerica, the western United States and Latin America. He is also an avid surfer.

Nathan WallaceBoard Member

Managing Member at Greyfox Investors LLC

California

Profile coming soon.

Board Alumni

Sonia Ortega

Program Director, Office of International Science and Engineering at the National Science Foundation

Washington, DC

Sonia Ortega is a native of Nicaragua who has extensive knowledge of science and engineering research and education policies. During her 25 years at the National Science Foundation (NSF), she has managed several multi-million dollar programs that span the gamut of education levels and disciplines. Moreover, she has represented NSF at at Palmer Station Antarctica as well as at national and international science and education meetings. Sonia holds a BS in biology from the University of Costa Rica, an MS in zoology from Duke University, and a PhD in biology from the University of South Carolina. Sonia has served as an advisor or board member for several education and scientific organizations in the US and abroad. She is a founding member of the Nicaraguan Academy of Sciences.

Teresa Lang

Senior Key Account Manager in North America, South Pole

Los Angeles

Teresa Lang has worked for Paso Pacífico in both California and Nicaragua. She served as our first (unofficial) surf ambassador and helped update our website, develop an intern program and other projects, and manage the “guías comunitarias” eco-tourism training programs in Ostional and La Tortuga. Previously, Teresa worked for the Clinton Global Initiative in New York, helping corporate and nonprofit industry leaders develop new climate change and environmental projects. At the Climate Action Reserve, she developed, managed, and maintained emissions reduction project protocols. She earned her Master of International Affairs (MIA) in environmental policy from Columbia University and earned her BA in the political economy of industrial societies from University of California—Berkeley. Teresa loves surfing the pristine waves in Nicaragua.

Derek Schlereth

Online & Direct Response Fundraising Specialist, David Suzuki Foundation

Vancouver, BC

Derek Schlereth is approaching ten years in the fundraising industry. Since 2010, he has helped develop and implement fundraisers for one of Canada’s largest and most respected environmental nonprofit organizations, the David Suzuki Foundation. Derek's passion for the environment helps him brave winter commutes on his bicycle. He strongly believes in involving and supporting local communities (particularly indigenous communities) in creating and implementing environmental change, which is a reason why he supports Paso Pacífico’s work. He referees minor hockey and recently earned his BBA in marketing management from Langara College.

Juan Marco Álvarez

Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Director, Grupo HAME

Guatemala

Juan Marco Álvarez has more than 20 years of experience in sustainability, conservation management and green growth issues. He has a masters degree in Business Administration and Sustainable Development from INCAE Business School in Costa Rica. His energy, passion, and insight have helped him fulfill leadership and committee positions at SalvaNATURA (El Salvador's leading conservation NGO), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Rainforest Alliance-Sustainable Agriculture Network, Green Economy Coalition, the Salvadoran Business Council for Sustainable Development, and other international organizations. He also represents the Republic of Ivory Coast in El Salvador as its Honorary Consul.

Christine SchmidtFormer Board President

Assistant Vice Chancellor, University of California, Berkeley

California

Christine has combined her knowledge of nonprofit organizations and her passion for wildlife and river conservation to support the creation and development of Paso Pacífico from the start. Christine has a master’s degree in nonprofit management from the University of San Francisco and has served on several nonprofit boards. She currently works as a Assistant Vice Chancellor at UC Berkeley. However, she makes time during the weekends to contribute to our common dream of building a wildlife corridor. Christine is also a talented nature photographer.

Frank Joyce

Resident Director & Instructor, EAP Costa Rica: Tropical Biology & Conservation

Costa Rica

In Monteverde, Costa Rica, Dr. Frank Joyce administers and teaches for the Tropical Biology & Conservation section of University of California's Education Abroad Program (EAP). He deeply loves seeing his students’ growth and he takes his students hiking and camping as he teaches and mentors them about tropical nature and conservation. He has an MS and PhD in zoology. With Kate, his wife, he lives in Monteverde year-round and enjoys Monteverdean cuisine.

Phil Torres

Biologist, Wildlife Photographer, Educator, and Science Television Host

New York City

Phil Torres graduated in Entomology from Cornell University in 2007 and likes to travel the world for science. Not only has he been bitten by an anaconda, he has also discovered over 40 new species, hosted 80 episodes of science-themed television programming, and earned over 1 million views via his YouTube web series, The Jungle Diaries. Phil's overarching aim is to increase awareness of conservation issues. His web home is phil-torres.com.

Lotte RoacheFormer Board President

Retired nonprofit professional

California

Lotte Roache was born and raised in Germany and immigrated to the United States over 20 years ago. Her expertise lies in event planning and coordinating and she worked most recently for a nonprofit organization. She currently volunteers for different organizations, including a school dedicated to educate homeless and at-risk students; an institution that delivers food and support to men, women, and children affected by AIDS or cancer; and a nonprofit that recycles flowers from events and businesses and delivers the re-purposed arrangements to hospitals, senior homes and hospice centers.

George Gorman

Investment Advisor, Western International Securities

San Francisco

George received a Ph.D. in Biology from Harvard University and became a biology professor at UCLA. His specialty was evolutionary biology and herpetology and his primary research area was in the Caribbean region. At age 40, he departed academia and entered law school. After having a brief legal career, his “day job” for the last 25 years has been asset management and financial planning. During this period, he has found time to return to conservation: he spent one year in Costa Rica with Stanford’s Center for Conservation Biology, two years at the Yale School of Forestry (partly as a 60-year-old grad student, partly as a research associate), and several semesters as a visiting fellow at Cornell University. In recent years he has taught a graduate seminar in conservation values, history, and law at Cornell and Harvard. George has also been involved with the management of the endowment funds for the Guanacaste Dry Forest Conservation Fund for many years.

Rodolfo Dirzo

California

Rodolfo Dirzo is a conservation scientist with a passion for conserving the tropical forests of Latin America. He is currently Bing Professor in Environmental Sciences at Stanford University. However, Rodolfo taught for many years at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico where he still continues to collaborate. While at UNAM, he also directed the Los Tuxtlas Tropical Research Station in Southeast Mexico. Rodolfo's scientific interests are focused on the ecology, evolution, and conservation of ecological processes in tropical forests.

Gian Marco Palazio

Nicaragua

Gian Marco directs several companies in the ecotourism, handicraft export, and real estate industries. He is a CALI (Central American Leadership Initiative) Fellow from the Aspen Institute and part of the Aspen Global Leadership Initiative. He graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1997. Since then, he has completed the Entrepreneur’s Organization’s EO/MIT Entrepreneurial Masters Program and multiple INCAE executive programs. Gian Marco is the president of Café Las Flores and the Central America Safety Company. He currently resides in Managua with his wife, Marcela, and their three children.

Sandra PearsonFormer Board President

California

Ms. Pearson has expertise in business management and organizational development. She is an experienced nonprofit leader and has served as President of the Board of Directors for a major nonprofit in the Bay Area. While in this position, she successfully represented the organization to the general public and the media, and participated in successful fundraising programs that resulted in broad public support for the organization. She is fluent in English and has intermediate fluency in Spanish.

Diana Pritchard

Ecologist and Anthropologist, University of Sussex

United Kingdom

Diana Pritchard’s career has focused on the many kinds of knowledge, livelihood practices, and global forces that shape human relationships with the natural world and its resources. She has deep ties to Nicaragua, having lived there for eight years with her children. Diana has worked in research, teaching, training, and policy and project management in six countries for universities, NGOs, and national and multilateral organizations such as United Nations agencies. She draws on analytical tools developed during her degrees in environmental biology and anthropology (University College London) and a doctorate in social policy (from the London School of Economics), to conduct her work at the interface of environmental and social phenomena. Paso Pacífico has given her a golden opportunity to channel her experiences and join a dynamic and eclectic group committed to strengthen local capacities and enhance the quality of lives and protect vulnerable ecosystems.

Ricardo Rueda

Nicaragua

Dr. Ricardo Rueda is a well-published biologist, educator, and botanist. He has been working at UNAN-León since 1980 as a botany professor. He directs the Environmental Botanical Garden and Herbarium and is a professor in the biology department. He belongs to numerous international professional organizations and has led more than 100 expeditions in Nicaragua to study the flora of its nature reserves. Dr. Rueda was a Fulbright Scholar and is also an associate researcher at the Missouri Botanical Gardens.

Rick Smith

Rick Smith's expertise in resource management and customer service techniques was developed over a 30-year career as a ranger with the US National Park Service. He has taught at Colorado State University, served with the US Peace Corps, and conducted seminars on ecotourism throughout the Americas. His passion for natural and cultural resource management is evident in his commitment to Paso Pacífico and the work we do in rural Nicaragua. Also evident in the work he does for us is his love of outdoor activities and river running. As a board member, Rick helped us launch our turtle ranger and junior ranger programs, and he continues to provide valuable advice in program planning. When he's not advocating for Paso Pacífico and helping us strengthen partnerships with allied organizations, Rick works as a conservation consultant.

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