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the team

Justus Raepple Profile

Justus Raepple

TNC Facility Program Lead

Justus serves as TNC’s program lead to the Nature for Water Facility. He began his TNC career as a deal lead in its impact investment unit, NatureVest, where he was responsible for developing and structuring transactions in new product areas. Following this, he served as a conservation finance lead to the Resilient Watersheds Strategy with a focus on driving sources of long-term sustainable funding into sourcewater protection programs, including the network of 40+ water funds TNC is involved with. Prior to TNC Justus spent half a decade in the private finance sector, principally conducting private and public equity investing in the hedge fund space. Justus received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Toronto in economics and international relations.

Michael Vice

Michael Vice

Pegasys Facility Program Lead

Michael serves as Pegasys’ program lead to the Nature for Water Facility. At Pegasys, Michael leads the Innovative Finance Practice. His team comprises multi-disciplinary professionals who create bespoke funds and facilities that aim to address critical livelihoods and ecosystem challenges across the Global South. Michael’s work includes the development of resource mobilization strategies and investment plans to help capitalize these funds and facility, with a distinct focus on using innovating approaches to attract private sector capital. Prior to joining Pegasys, Michael was a Sustainability Engineer at JG Afrika, conducting designs and construction supervision of sustainable infrastructure including solar PV, rainwater harvesting and waste-to-energy. He is a registered Professional Engineer, with a Masters of Engineering from the University of Cape Town in Sustainability and Systems Thinking. Michael was also part of the inaugural cohort for the Impact Finance Innovations Programme at the University of Oxford’s Saїd Business School, and has a Certificate in ESG Investing from the CFA Institute.

Emaan standing in front of an outdoor background

Emaan Ahmad

Engagement Manager

Emaan is an Engagement Manager for the Nature for Water Facility. She has extensive experience using strategic thinking, quantitative methods, economics and political analysis to solve environmental and development problems. Emaan is passionate about designing robust programs and putting communities at the center of her work. Prior to TNC, she spent 5 years as a management consultant, working primarily with financial sector and public sector clients in the Middle East, Africa and Europe. Emaan holds a Master in Public Administration in International Development from the Harvard Kennedy School and a Bachelors of Arts in Economics from New York University Abu Dhabi.

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Stefania Almazan

Stefania is an environmental social scientist. Her key interest is in finding collaborative solutions to water issues through strong partnerships with local communities, the private sector, and government agencies. She has training and experience in economics, behavioral science, governance and power, and socio-ecological systems. Stefania has worked in a variety of environmental sustainability projects using qualitative and quantitative research methods such as surveys, behavioral experiments, econometrics, and semi-structured interviews. Stefania holds a PhD in Resource Policy and Behavior (University of Michigan), a MS in Environmental  Policy and Planning (University of Michigan), and a BA in Economics (Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México).

Brooke Atwell

Brooke Atwell

Engagement Manager

Brooke Atwell serves as an Engagement Manager for the Facility and is the Associated Director for The Nature Conservancy’s Resilient Watersheds strategy, where she works to conserve watersheds around the world by developing sustainable watershed investment programs that meet the needs of biodiversity and communities. Brooke develops and executes a global strategy to mainstream nature-based solutions in the climate and water sectors and manages the strategy’s portfolio of flagship programs. She has a strong background in collaborative strategic planning, program management, economic and financial analyses for NbS, strategic communications, and operational and relationship management in cross-cultural, multidisciplinary settings. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in environmental science from the University of Virginia.

Jack Beard

Jack Beard

Science Technical Lead

Jack is a hydrologist with expertise in nature-based solutions, climate change and water resources. His key interest is exploring how water resources challenges interface with ecology, climate and society. Jack is a consultant at FutureWater, a Dutch research and consultancy organisation, and recently moved to the UK to work with TNC on the Norfolk Water Strategy. Outside of work, he loves getting out into nature—whether that be hiking, climbing, cycling or swimming.

Hannah Benn

Hannah Benn

Engagement Manager

Hannah is an economist specialising in socially and ecologically sustainable development. Hannah has developed specialised skills in a range of economic, financial, and analytical methods relevant for sustainable development. These include Social Cost Benefit Analysis (SCBA), Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA), environmental valuation techniques, financial modelling, funder mapping and analysis, and various assessment methods for climate change resilience and socio-economic impact. Through her work on Water Funds, Hannah has (i) assessed economic impacts in the context of sustainable livelihoods, climate change resilience and urban development, (ii) designed innovative finance structures, fit for a range of purposes of including largescale ecosystem enhancement, localised livelihood development, and regional climate impact readiness, and (iii) produced feasibility studies and business cases to communicate effectively to a range of audiences including government officials, private financiers, implementation agents as well as project beneficiaries. Hannah holds a master’s degree from the University of Edinburgh in Ecological Economics.

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Carolina Chiriboga

Portfolio Management Associate

Carolina has joined as a Portfolio Management Associate at the Facility, bringing over 7 years of diverse experience across various industries. She has managed cross-functional projects in dynamic, fast-paced environments and has directed effective marketing strategies for brands and services, with emphasis on market analysis and research. Carolina holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Universidad San Francisco de Quito and is a certified SCRUM Master from scrum.org. 

She has always been passionate about environmental and sustainable issues, but she found her admiration for nature even more, once she obtained her Open Water Diver License. Carolina loves to travel, she has lived in 4 different countries including Ecuador, Denmark, Brazil and Perú.

Kasuna Chirwa

Kasuna Chirwa

Program Coordinator

Kasuna serves as a Program Coordinator on the Facility, mainly focusing on the Operational aspects and coordination of engagements on the Facility. She has professional experience in Financial Management, Project Governance as well as Programme & Project Management. She has worked in the Telecommunications industry with complex and multiple projects varying from the deployment of Telecommunications infrastructure, Revenue Assurance, and ensuring the Operational Compliance and Operational efficiencies in line with industry Frameworks.

Zach stands in front of a grey background

Zach Fineberg

Engagement Manager

Areas of expertise: Finance

Zack is an engagement manager within Pegasys resilience and cities team. A qualified chartered accountant, Zack has an educational background in finance and accounting, holding a master's in development finance from the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business. His experience and interests lie at the intersection of infrastructure and finance, with a particular focus on addressing urban development challenges through the sustainable financing of green and grey infrastructure projects.

Juan Diego González Parra

Juan Diego González Parra

Science Lead

Juan is a Water Resources Engineer with more than 10 years of experience in water-related environmental projects, including technical and policy development, as well as project management and coordination of interdisciplinary teams. He is a civil engineer and holds a master`s degree in water resources engineering (Universidad Nacional de Colombia). Juan has worked in several water-related projects in water sector consultancies and government agencies, involving hydrologic and hydraulic modelling of watersheds and aquatic ecosystems, and advised the development of technical documents, guidelines, and regulations in Colombia, related to integrated water resource management, including water quality, environmental flows, riparian zones, and sediment management. Until 2021, Juan worked with the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development in Colombia, where he was in charge of the development and advisory on the application of technical standards and regulations related to sustainable watershed management. Juan also has experience as a trainer to diverse background audiences, including government agencies, non-government experts and communities, on sustainable water management.

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Lola Grundman

Engagement Consultant

Lola is an Engagement Consultant at the Facility, with 5 years of experience in fast-paced client delivery and research across the private sector, NGOs, and impact investing. Lola holds an M.A. in Sustainable Development from the University of Edinburgh and an MSc in Environmental Technology from Imperial. Passionate about water, regenerative land use, and nature-based solutions, much of her work focuses on agriculture, biodiversity, and catchment management. Prior to joining Pegasys, Lola was working as a consultant for the Nature Conservancy, where she worked on Water Funds, and later she consulted for an early-stage impact investment fund, focused on ocean conservation. Previously, Lola has also led client engagements with FT500 companies and has experience leading multi-cultural teams in business development and research.

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Tamryn Heydenrych

Engagement Consultant

Tamryn is an Environmental Scientist with a background in environmental and sustainability consulting. She has worked in a wide range of sectors and environments and joins the Nature for Water Facility as a consultant to assist in bridging the gap between all the role players.

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Nancy Lilly

Communications Manager

Nancy coordinates and manages media and communications for the Facility.  She is a Natural Resource Communications professional and a systems thinker with over 10 years of experience connecting people with their environment. Based in Virginia, in the United States of America, she has a background in municipal stormwater outreach and education, community based science, and behavior change campaigns.  Nancy holds a Masters of Natural Resources from Virginia Tech, and a Bachelors of Natural Resources from Sewanee. If you haven’t heard from Nancy, she is most likely on a boat or deep in the undergrowth of the Appalachian forests.  

Juanse in front of a natural background

Juan Lozano

Science Lead

JuanSe is an Ecologist with a Master’s degree in Environmental Monitoring and currently pursuing a PhD in Environmental Sciences at Florida International University.  He has worked with the Natural Capital Project at Stanford University to employ the InVEST modeling suite to improve decision-making processes for Water Funds in Latin America. While at TNC he also coordinated Water Stewardship programs with Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, which contributed to the replenishment of both companies’ water footprints in key markets in Latin America. JuanSe also managed the technical team for the Cloud Forest Blue Energy project, which was a partnership between TNC and CI to assess the financial viability of NbS to improve outcomes for two hydropower assets in Colombia.

Diana on a gray background

Diana Madrigal

Engagement Consultant

Diana is an Environmental Manager and MSc. in Integrated Water Management from The University of Queensland. She is passionate about environmental, social, and sustainable development issues. Before joining the Nature for Water Facility, Diana worked as an analyst in the Water and Sanitation Division of a multilateral development bank overseeing large-scale water and sanitation infrastructure and solid waste projects. She is also the founder of an NGO that helps to empower and break poverty cycles among young people living in communities at high social risk in Costa Rica.

Debora wearing a green shirt in front of a grey background

Débora Miranda

Engagement Manager

Débora Miranda serves as an Engagement Manager for the Water Facility, based in Brazil, overseeing N4W projects in the Americas. With 10 years of professional experience in Portfolio Management, Investments, and Governance, Debora has worked in the private equity sector, as well as in development finance and engineering. She also has experiences on structuring ESG and Diversity & Inclusion strategic plans. She holds a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of São Paulo (Brazil) and participated in exchange programs in the USA and France.

Maria in a white shirt in front of some greenery

Maria Camila Moreno

Engagement Consultant

Maria Camila is an Engagement Consultant for the Nature Water Facility. She has experience working with local governments in formulating, managing, and implementing Climate Change, adaptation, and nature-based solutions projects for various Colombian local governments. She has a specific interest in contributing to local solutions that are community-compatible. That helps identify and ideally reduce existing inequities, particularly with a focus on intersectional gender considerations. Maria Camila received a bachelor's degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Medellín.

Douglas Nyolei

Douglas Nyolei

Science Lead

Douglas is a land and water resources specialist/engineer with a wealth of experience in the agriculture, water and environment sectors covering field practice, project management and research for development. He has successfully supported efforts aimed at improved agricultural productivity and sustainable land and water management in agricultural landscapes for improved food and water security systems. As a trainer/facilitator, he has provided numerous capacity building trainings to farmers/local communities, governments, non-governmental organizations and academic personnel on agricultural land and water management and the application of ICT based decision support tools (GIS, Remote Sensing and IoT) for sustainable management and development of land and water resources, especially in agricultural landscapes. Douglas holds a PhD (Doctor of engineering sciences) in Hydrology and Water Resources Management (Vrije Universiteit Brussel -VUB, Belgium), a Master of Science in Water Resources Engineering (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven - KUL, Belgium) and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental and Biosystems Engineering (University of Nairobi - UoN, Kenya).

Carlos Andrés Rogéliz Prada

Carlos Andrés Rogéliz Prada

Science Lead

Carlos is a Civil Engineer with a Masters in Hydraulic Resources. He leverages his extensive knowledge of hydrological and hydraulic mathematical modeling to develop successful nature-based solutions programs in Colombia that sustainably manage water resources for the benefit of people and nature. He specializes in providing thoughtful consultation for projects related to the analysis of hydrographic basins, hydraulic studies of rivers, management of geographic information systems, and generation of software and applications that analyze and compile large quantities of information.

Bruce in front of a white wall

Bruce Scott-Shaw

Science Associate

Areas of expertise: hydrology, sustainable land-use

Bruce is an experienced hydrologist with a passion for sustainable land-use management. Bruce has had a long career at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, where he refined various hydrological models to improve their accuracy in climatically variable catchments in South Africa. More recently he has been an independent consultant working on flood and catchment models in Africa. Bruce loves all sports and is keen on exploring new landscapes, preferably with his dogs.

Thomas Skurtis

Thomas Skurtis

Engagement Manager

Thomas is passionate about environmental and sustainable development issues and uses his financial and project management skills to design and implement innovative solutions that benefit both nature and people. Thomas has 15 years of blended experience in project finance, development finance, renewable energies, and nature-based solutions. This allows him to bring different perspectives on how to effectively engage stakeholders in conservation programmes. For the past 3 years, Thomas has led the Blue Energy Mechanism initiative, a joint Conservation International and The Nature Conservancy effort to set up Payment for Ecosystem Services schemes with the hydropower sector. Outside of work, nature is also very much a central part of his life, as he enjoys mountain biking and hiking whenever he can.

Erik Spiro

Erik Spiro

Engagement Manager

Erik is an Engagement Manager for the Facility. He has experience in broad-based strategy, financial & market modelling, and enterprise growth experience consulting for investment funds and businesses in Europe. He has since pivoted to climate and development, working with organizations such as the African Development Bank and the Gates Foundation. His NbS experience includes costing and funding analyses, and portfolio design.

Anne-Louise Vernes

Anne-Louise Vernes

Knowledge and Impact Manager

Anne-Louise is the Knowledge and Impact Manager for the Facility. Based in London, she has a strong background in natural resource management and climate change adaptation. She has supported the pre-feasibility assessment of several Water Funds and co-authored the How-to Guide for preparing Watershed Investment Programs alongside TNC. Anne-Louise has a background in institutional and policy analysis and has experience in designing stakeholder mapping and engagement tools. Additionally, she has been involved in the design of multiple M&E frameworks for large scale projects and has led the knowledge management of the UK’s flagship forestry program. She holds a Master’s of Public Administration in Development Practice from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA).

Amber in front of a blue sky with buildings in the background

Amber Waltz

Engagement Manager

Amber is an Engagement Manager with over 7 years of experience working in consulting, sustainability, international development, and data. Before joining the Nature for Water Facility, Amber was a Managing Consultant leading Guidehouse’s NGOs account and working on sustainability and data solutions for the U.S. General Services Administration and U.S. Department of Transportation. She has also worked on international development projects for Goodwill Industries International and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency. Amber holds an MS of Sustainability Management and BA of International Studies from American University.

Trees in winter fog

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