Amanda Alfonso
Amanda has a degree in Environmental Biology from the Universidad de Chile, and a MSc in Environmental Science with a specialty in Environmental System Analysis, from Wageningen University, Holland. Amanda has worked in several research projects, studying the relationship between natural capital and human welfare in rural areas, evaluating ecosystem services and ecological restoration. She also has experience in project coordination, spatial analysis and the development of participatory methodologies. At FTA, she works directly with landowners who are interested in protecting their land with Derecho Real de Conservación agreements, helping them develop land conservation plans that meet their long-term needs while ensuring the conservation values inherent in their properties.
Victoria Alonso
Victoria received a degree in Agricultural Engineering from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and a MSc in Environmental Sustainability in the United Kingdom. She has more than 20 years of experience both in the public and private sector. Since 2013, in addition to her leadership role at FTA, Victoria has worked on the development of biodiversity compensation measures in the mining and energy sectors. At FTA, she has played a critical role in the formulation, passage and now the implementation of the Derecho Real de Conservación. Victoria is widely recognized for her expertise in private lands conservation in Civil Law countries, and has made presentations on the subject at numerous global conferences.
Mariana Ayala
Mariana has a degree in Agricultural Engineering from Pontificia Católica de Chile. She has worked as an environmental consultant, focusing on biodiversity conservation and compensation measures, in the mining, energy and public sectors. Mariana participated in and made a presentation at an international seminar held in Lima, Peru organized by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the German Cooperation Agency and the Peruvian Ministry of Energy and Mining.
Ariane Claussen
Ariane has a degree in Renewable Natural Resources Engineering from the Universidad de Chile, with a specialty in nature conservation planning. She has more than 10 years of experience in the management of protected wildlands. She has also developed methodologies related to compensation for biodiversity loss. At FTA, her work focuses on the Boldo-Cantillana project, and she provides technical assistance to landowners who want to protect their land with a Derecho Real de Conservación agreement.
Henry Tepper
Henry is a Boston, MA-based independent environmental consultant and teaches land conservation practice in the Masters Program in Sustainability at the Harvard University Extension School and at Brandeis University. Henry has played a leadership role in the Chilean private lands conservation initiative since its inception in the early 2000s, and has helped create both the templates for the Servidumbre Voluntaria agreement and the Derecho Real de Conservación. He also helped establish Tierra Austral. Henry’s other positions include serving as the President of the Massachusetts Audubon Society, as Chief Conservation Officer and Partner of Patagonia Sur, LLC, and working for The Nature Conservancy as the State Director of the New Hampshire Chapter and then as the Director of the New York State Program. Henry has a Bachelors Degree from the University of Michigan and a Masters Degree and Admission to Doctoral Candidacy from Cornell University.
Benjamín Parra
Benjamín has a degree in Business Administration from the Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, where he also completed a Masters in Administration and Strategy with a Major in Sustainability.
Our Board
Rafael Asenjo
Rafael is one of the most prominent environmental lawyers in Chile. He has held several government and international multilateral positions, in which he has helped build the foundations of environmental law and policy in Chile. He was the Executive Director of the National Environmental Commission, where he helped create Chile’s first legal tools for environmental management, including the “Ley 19.300, de Bases Generales del Medio Ambiente y el Sistema de Evaluación de Impacto Ambiental'' (SEIA), which is the country’s Environmental Impact Assessment Program. At the United Nations, Rafael was the Executive Director of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and the National Coordinator of the GEF-PNUD-MMA Proyecto “Creación de un Sistema Nacional Integral de Áreas Protegidas para Chile'', which worked to create an integrated public and private protected areas system for Chile. Rafael was also the President of the Studies for Development Center (CED), where he provided technical assistance to environmental projects in Latin America and the Caribbean (of the Universidad de Chile Lawyer. Most recently, Rafael has served as Titular Minister and then President of the Environmental Court of Santiago. Rafael has a Law degree from the Universidad de Chile.
Kathleen Collins Barclay
Kathy is a prominent business, civic and environmental leader in Chile. She spent 23 years working in the financial services industry at the Chase Manhattan Bank (now JP Morgan Chase & Co.) in positions in New York, London and Chile. She is now the Principal of KCB Advisors, an international strategic advisory firm focused on opportunities between the United States and Latin America. Kathy serves on the Board of Directors of BiceCorp, Banco Bice, Austral Capital and Geomar S.A., among others. Among Kathy’s civic and environmental leadership roles are serving as the President of the Fundación Panamericana del Desarollo, and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Adolfo Ibáñez Foundation and the Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez. She is a Council Advisor to Endeavor Chile,a Board member of Chile Global Angels, and of the Consultative Council of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS) Karukinka Project. She is a former Chair of the Board of the Chilean-American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham), and the Association of Chambers of Commerce in Latin America (AACCLA), and has led several initiatives at AmCham. Kathy received her B.S. Degree in Foreign Service from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
Guillermo Donoso
Dr. Donoso is a Professor of Agricultural Economics at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. He is an environmental and natural resource economist who specializes in water economics, water allocation mechanisms and economic valuation. He is currently a board member of the International Water Resources Association, and a member of the management committee of the Water Economics and Statistics Specialist Group (IWA) and a member of the editorial board of the Water Economics and Policy Journal. Dr. Donoso was also Director of the National Agricultural Research Institute of Chile and Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry of Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile from 1998 to 2007, and was Director of the Department of Agricultural Economics from 1995 to 1998. Dr. Donoso has a degree in Agricultural Engineering from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and a Ph.D in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of Maryland.
Michael Grasty
Founding Michael is a founding partner of the Santiago Law Firm of Grasty Quintana Majlis & Cía. Ltda. He advises national and international clients in a range of fields, including software,, telecommunications, energy, retail, salmon farming and mining. He was Director and President (2005-2007) of the Chilean-American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM). He also led the Committee organizing the international “Philip C. Jessup Moot Court Competition” international law competition. Michael’s numerous professional associations and leadership roles reflect his strong interests in best legal practices, environmental conservation at the national and global levels, education, and sports. Some of his leadership positions include: the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation; the Pro Bono Foundation; the Chile-California Council; the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise Beachheads Program; Sparta Deportes; and the Fundación MERI. Michael is a lawyer from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, LL.B. (1981) and holds a degree from Menlo College & School of Business Administration (1972) and a BA in History, Stanford University (1974).
Alejandro Orizola
Alejandro is a lawyer with training and experience in environmental law in both Chile and the United States. He has a law degree from the Universidad de Chile and an LLM in Environmental and Natural Resources Law from the University of Oregon. He now lives and works in Portland, Oregon, where he serves as the Conservation Director of the Forest Park Conservancy, an urban land trust. Alejandro worked previously as the Project Coordinator for the State of Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, where he managed natural areas real estate transactions. Prior to moving to the US, Alejandro served as the Development and Land Manager and Legal Advisor at Patagonia Sur, LLC, a for-profit conservation real estate company. At Patagonia Sur, Alejandro led the land acquisition program and provided legal services, including the creation of the Servidumbre de Conservación private lands conservation agreement in Valle California, Palena. He has also played a major role in creating the template for the Derecho Real de Conservación agreement.
Marcela Rentería
Marcela is the Executive Director of the Chilean Regional Office of Harvard University’s David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies. She has worked at Harvard University for more than 15 years, focusing on global education and innovation efforts in Latin America. She is also cofounder and leader of Harvard University’s Recupera Chile initiative, an ongoing multidisciplinary project focused on post-disaster recovery in communities struck by the February 2010 earthquake and tsunami. Marcella is a member of the Board of América Solidaria and serves on the Advisory Council of Corporación Amigos de los Parques de la Patagonia in Chile. Marcela has a Masters Degree in Intercultural Relations from Lesley University in Boston, MA, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communications from the Pontificia Universidad Javierana in Bogota, Colombia.
Rand Wentworth
Rand is the Louis Bacon Senior Fellow in Environmental Leadership at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and an Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy and a member of the faculty for the Senior Executive Fellows at the Harvard Kennedy School. He also serves as president emeritus of the Land Trust Alliance, a national conservation organization based in Washington, DC which serves as the leader for 1100 land trusts with 8,000 staff, 16,000 board members and 4.6 million members. He served as president from 2002-2016 and is widely recognized for expanding the pace and quality of land conservation in America. Rand has testified before Congress three times and led a coalition that built bi-partisan support in Congress for a bill that dramatically expanded the tax incentives for donations of conservation easements. During his leadership, land trusts doubled the annual pace of conservation in America and have now protected over 56 million acres. During his time as president, the Land Trust Alliance created a national accreditation system; built a virtual university for land conservation training 5000 people each year; and Terrafirma, an innovative insurance service that funds the legal costs of defending conserved lands from legal challenge. Before joining the Land Trust Alliance, Rand served as vice president and founding director of the Atlanta office of the Trust for Public Land. Prior to his career in conservation, Mr. Wentworth was president of a commercial real estate development company based in Atlanta. He is a graduate of Yale University and holds an MBA in finance from Cornell University.