ACA Staff

In Washington, DC

Jeff Woodman, ACA's new Executive Director as of January 14th, 2013, was a futures and options trader for Vitol, Inc. in Houston, Texas. He has served on ACA's Board of Directors since 2009 and has served as Treasurer of ACA's board since 2011. Mr. Woodman has a passionate interest in conservation, is President of a foundation and serves on several boards. He replaces Luis Felipe Duchicela who has moved on to a position representing indigneous peoples worldwide at the World Bank.

Megan MacDowell, ACA’s DC Office Director, has worked for several major conservation organizations including the Nature Conservancy, the World Wildlife Fund, and Conservation International. She has also led ecology and sustainable development study programs in Brazil and Costa Rica for Antioch Education Abroad and International Student Volunteers. Before ACA, Megan worked with Conservation International’s Education and Social Marketing program, where she supported field staff in designing and carrying out environmental education programs focused on behavior change. Megan has a BA in Biology and Environmental Studies from Swarthmore College and a master’s in Sustainable Development and Conservation Biology from the University of Maryland.

Hannah Stutzman, ACA’s Director of Programs, manages our Manu - Tambopata Corridor project and our Cusco-based Indigenous REDD project, and helps design new projects and strategies. She has worked on conservation, sustainable development and cultural issues with major NGOs in the US and Latin America. While recently living in Bogota, Colombia she worked with organizations including Conservation International and the Colombian Ministry of Culture. Hannah has a Master’s of Environmental Management from Yale University and a BA in Anthropology from Bryn Mawr College.

Danielle King, ACA’s DC-based Program Assistant, returns after having interned with ACA in the spring of 2010. Danielle has also interned with the National Parks Conservation Association's Center for State of the Parks and Government Affairs Division. She received her BA in International Studies from American University, where she studied global environmental policy and international development, and attended Universiteit Maastricht; Maastricht, Netherlands for a semester in 2010.

Valerie Peterson, ACA’s DC-based Outreach Manager, has had a life-long passion for land conservation. She has an undergraduate degree in Geography and Environmental Studies from the University of Wisconsin, and a graduate degree from Virginia Tech in Urban Planning. She has ten years of experience as an urban planner for local governments managing community planning and sustainable development projects, and is experienced in public relations and participation strategies. Early in her career, she worked on outreach and fund-raising efforts for a local land trust, and was also a researcher for National Geographic. Valerie enjoys traveling, including trips to her husband's home country of Uruguay, where she lived for a time honing her Spanish and volunteering with a community development organization.

Eileen Rosin, Finance Manager for ACA, has worked on issues of international development and human rights in Latin America for more than twenty-five years. Recently, she managed the Washington Office on Latin America’s three-year project on the impact of U.S. international anti-drug policy on democracy and human rights in Latin America and the Caribbean, and is co-editor of the well-received volume Drugs and Democracy in Latin America. She has also worked as editor, grantwriter, financial manager, and publications coordinator with a number of Washington-based non-profit organizations. Ms. Rosin has a master’s of science in Development Management from American University.

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In Peru (ACCA staff)

Daniela Pogliani, ACCA's National Director based in Lima, Peru, has more than 15 years of professional experience in administration, project management, and finance in both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. She has a Master’s degree in business administration from a top European business school in Milan, Italy, as well as a bachelor’s degree in business administration and accounting. She has managed a USAID-funded conservation project in Peru for the Rainforest Alliance, where she was also responsible for managing the budgeting, accounting, human resources, and administrative functions for all of their Peru-based activities. Previously, she was responsible for the start-up of a sustainable fish farming project in Northern Peru. Daniela is Italian by nationality but has lived and worked in Peru for over a decade and is fluent in Spanish as well as English.

Augusto Mulanovich, ACCA’s Technical Director based in Lima, Peru, has worked the past 15 years as a professional conservationist for the protection of the Amazon. Augusto's experience and expertise include wildlife management and policy, ecotourism, non-timber forest product management, forestry policy, protected areas management, environmental education, eco-business, and most recently implementing Payment for Environmental Services (PES) schemes such as Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD). Furthermore, Augusto's pioneering work in butterfly farming has been an example of sustainable alternatives for the Amazon rainforest. Augusto is a Forestry Engineer from La Molina University in Lima and thanks to the Russell E. Train Scholarship from the EFN-WWF program, Augusto was granted a full scholarship to study Forest and Nature Conservation with a specialization in Policy and Management at Wageningen University in the Netherlands where he obtained his Master of Science degree.

Karen Eckhardt, ACCA's Associate Director for Cusco, based in the city of Cusco, Peru, is a biologist and an ornithologist with over a decade of experience in conducting biological baseline and environmental impact studies in the Andes/Amazon. She holds a Master's Degree in Tropical Environments and Development from Turku University (Finland) and has pursued further studies in sustainable development. Karen oversees all ACA/ACCA projects implemented within the Cusco department and serves as a liaison with the regional government.

Juan Loja, ACCA's Associate Director for Madre de Dios, based in Puerto Maldonado, Peru, has over 15 years of experience working with communities, sustainable livelihoods, and conservation projects in the Amazon region, where he has worked and consulted for Caritas and Conservation International among others. He also served as a professor of Forestry Science and the Environment at the National University of San Antonio Abad of Cusco. Juan is a biologist, and is pursuing his Master's degree in Forestry Resource Management. Juan oversees all ACA/ACCA projects implemented within the Madre de Dios department and serves as a liaison with the regional government.

Ronald Catpo, ACCA’s Director for Conservation Areas and Institutional Strengthening based in Cusco, Peru, Ronald has worked with ACCA since 2007 mainly as the director of the Cusco office. Ronald has been a lifelong promoter of conservation through reforestation, social forestry, and conservation concessions, and was instrumental in the creation of the 17,238-acre Haramba Queros Wachiperi Ecological Reserve, the first conservation concession managed by an indigenous group in Peru. Ronald previously worked for ProManu, a special project sponsored by the European Union that developed conservation activities to support Manu National Park. He has also worked for the Peruvian park service as well as the well-respected Peruvian NGO ProNaturaleza, as well as several other NGOs and government agencies in Peru. Ronald has a bachelor’s degree in forestry management and a master’s degree in conservation and forestry resources from the National Agrarian University of La Molina in Lima.

Adrian Tejedor, ACA/ACCA’s Science Director based in Cusco, Peru, was born in Havana, Cuba, and has worked extensively throughout the Neotropics studying evolution and biogeography. Adrian coordinates research, courses, and the ACA grants program for all three ACA biological stations. Adrian has a BS in Biology from the University of Miami, and a PhD in Ecology, Evolution and Behavior from City University of New York. He is also a research associate at the American Museum of Natural History.

Daniel Huaman, ACCA's Associate Director for Science and Communications based in Lima, Peru, is a biologist whose research is directed towards the production of information to assist decision making for the conservation of natural areas. Daniel has a particular interest in using communication and education as tools to share knowledge with the public and expand conservation efforts. At Wayqecha, he coordinates an environmental education program with children from the highlands of Manu. Daniel has worked as a researcher and field coordinator for projects of various organizations and the Peruvian government such as, APECO (Asociación Peruana para la Conservación de la Naturaleza), the Pro-Manu Project and INRENA, the government natural resources agency.

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In Bolivia (ACEAA staff)

Marcos Teran, Director of ACEAA in Bolivia, is a specialist in mammal population dynamics with an emphasis on bats. He has a BA in Biology from the University of San Andrés, Bolivia, and holds an MA in the Management and Conservation of Tropical Biodiversity. Marcos is a member of the IUCN’s Mammal Specialist Group in Bolivia and is part of various conservation programs such as the Bolivian Program for Bat Conservation (PCMB) and the Bolivian Association of Mammal Researchers (ABIMA).

Jhonny Ayala Johnny Ayala, Coordinator of Zoology for ACEAA, earned his master’s degree in Ecology and Conservation at the University of San Andrés, Bolivia. Johnny has worked on various field studies, including monitoring hunting in indigenous communities and radio telemetry of mammals and reptiles. Johnny has a wide knowledge of traditional use of fauna by indigenous communities in Bolivia. He has worked with several conservation organizations, including BOLBOR, VAIPO, CIDDEBENI, and WCS-CABI.

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Photo of Luis Felipe Duchicela with staff

ACA Executive Director Luis Felipe Duchicela (far right) with Ronald Catpo, Megan MacDowell, and Adrian Tejedor (left to right). Photo: Leoncio Luna

ACA-Bolivia staff on an expedition to record the plant diversity in the Pampas del Heath. Photo: ACA

ACCA staff prepare the strategic plan in Puerto Maldonado, Peru. Photo: Nurymar Feldman

Karen Eckhardt of ACCA (left) meeting with residents of the indigenous Q'eros community of Japu about creating a private conservation area. Photo: ACCA

ACCA's Ronald Catpo (left) speaking at a Seminar on REDD in Cusco in 2009. Photo: ACCA

ACA's Luis Felipe Duchicela and Hannah Stutzman (center left and right) with members of the Santa Rita Reforestation Association in the Manu - Tambopata Corridor of Madre de Dios, Peru. Photo: Laura Samaniego

ACCA's Laura Samaniego (left) and Cristina Trujillo (right) with a MAT Corridor beneficiary who hopes to create an ecotourism program for his private conservation area, holding a tourism inventory map. Photo: Luis Felipe Duchicela

ACCA's Cristina Trujillo, Luciano Huilca and Laura Samaniego conduct a vegetation study in the MAT Corridor. Photo: Luis Villena

ACCA Director of Operations, Augusto Mulanovich, on the Canopy Walkway at Wayqecha. Photo: Megan MacDowell

ACCA Science Director, Adrian Tejedor, on the Canopy Walkway at Wayqecha. Photo: Megan MacDowell

Hannah Stutzman (left) and Daniel Huaman (right) spot birds from the Canopy Walkway. Photo: Leoncio Luna

ACA-Bolivia staff conducting an assessment of Brazil nut trees in the Takana II communities north of Madidi National Park. Photo: ACA-Bolivia