About me

I am a Forestry Engineer and Anthropologist with an interdisciplinary Master's in Geospatial Modeling.
As a forestry and social scientist, I explore complex land-use problems including agriculture (palm oil, coffee, cocoa, and others). I am a GIS enthusiast and a human rights advocate, dedicated to finding nature-based solutions for the climate crisis.
I am an expert in carbon projects for voluntary markets and Scope 3, with experience coordinating AFOLU projects in Latin America and Africa. I speak Spanish, English, and Portuguese.

      graph LR
      B(Qualifications) --> F[Forestry Engineer and Anthropologist]
      B --> G[Master in Analysis and Modeling of Environmental Systems]
      

      graph LR
      C(Interests) --> H[Quantitative forestry and social sciences]
      C --> I[GIS problems and spatial modeling]
      C --> J[Nature Climate Solutions]
      

      graph LR
      D(Skills) --> K[Problem-solving pro]
      D --> L[GIS and technical carbon issues]
      D --> M[GIS modeling and social and impact assessment]
      D --> N[Languages: Spanish, English, Portuguese]
      

      graph LR
      E(Experience) --> O[Six years of experience in the voluntary carbon market]
      E --> P[Current position: Carbon Compliance Expert at Earthshot Lab]
      E --> Q[Previous position: Regional Lead for Nature-Based Solutions at South Pole]
      

2- Qualifications

Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Analysis and Modeling of Environmental Systems

• Federal University of Minas Gerais, Institute of Geosciences (IGC / UFMG)
• Belo Horizonte, Brazil
• Mar 2015 - May 2017

Topics: Improved Forest Management Finance Analysis Forest Management Deforestation Degradation

graph LR

    subgraph Technical
    A[Analysis & Modeling]:::skillbox
    B[Statistical Methods]:::skillbox
    C[Computational Techniques]:::skillbox
    end

    subgraph Practical
    D[Fieldwork Experience]:::practical
    E[Environmental Data Collection]:::practical
    F[Data Management]:::practical
    end

    subgraph Communication
    G[Research ]:::communication
    H[Academic Writing]:::communication
    I[Audience Engagement]:::communication
    end



    A --> B & C
    D --> E --> F
    G --> H & I

    B -.-> E
    C -.-> F
    F -.-> G

Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Anthropology

• University of Antioquia, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities
• Medellín, Colombia
• Dec 2005 - Dec 2013

Topics: Human Rights-based Approach FPIC Land Use Tenure Deforestation

graph LR
    subgraph Research_Methods
        D[Ethnography]:::methods
        E[Qualitative Analysis]:::methods
        F[Participatory Methods]:::methods
    end

    subgraph Focus_Areas
        G[Human Rights]:::focus
        H[Indigenous Communities]:::focus
        I[Social Change]:::focus
    end

    subgraph Applied_Skills
        J[Land Use Mapping]:::applied
        K[FPIC Implementation]:::applied
        L[Theory of Change]:::applied
    end

    %% Main connections
    D --> J & K
    E --> J & L
    F --> K
    
    %% Focus area connections
    G --> K
    H --> J & K
    I --> L & F

    %% Cross-area relationships
    J -.-> H
    K -.-> G & H
    L -.-> I & F

Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng.) in Forestry

• National University of Colombia, Faculty of Agrarian Sciences
• Medellín, Colombia
• Jan 2005 - Jun 2012

Topics: Forest Inventory LiDAR & Remote Sensing Sustainable Forest Management Forest Economics Forest Mapping

graph LR
    subgraph Core_Knowledge
        A[Sustainable Forest Management]:::core
        B[Forest Science]:::core
    end

    subgraph Technical_Skills
        C[Forest Inventory]:::tech
        D[LiDAR & Remote-Sensing]:::tech
        E[Economic Outcomes]:::tech
    end

    subgraph Practical_Applications
        F[Forest Mapping]:::practical
        G[Harvesting Plan]:::practical
        H[Resource Assessment]:::practical
    end

    subgraph Management_Approach
        J[Sustainability Analysis]:::management
        K[Environmental Impact Assessment]:::management
    end

    %% Main Connections
    A & B --> C
    C --> F & H
    D & E --> F
    
    %% Integration Lines
    F --> G
    H --> K & J
    B --> K
    
    %% Cross-domain Relationships
    C -.-> H
    F -.-> H
    K -.-> G

    %% Technology Integration
    D -.-> H
    E -.-> F

3- Interests

Here my approach to climate-based solutions, which involves accounting models and geospatial solutions to drive climate action, always ensuring a human-rights-based approach.

quadrantChart
    x-axis Medium Technical Complexity --> High Technical Complexity
    y-axis Medium Interest --> High Interest
    quadrant-1 Core Technical Focus
    quadrant-2 Core Research Focus
    quadrant-3 Potential Growth Areas
    quadrant-4 Potential Supporting Knowledge

    %% Core Technical (Upper Right: 0.5-1.0, 0.5-1.0)
    Carbon Methodologies: [0.75, 0.95]
    Carbon Accounting Modeling: [0.85, 0.85]
    GHG Jurisdictional REDD: [0.55, 0.60]
    Scope 3 Removals & Reductions Analysis: [0.65, 0.75]
    Geospatial Analysis: [0.80, 0.75]

    %% Core Research Focus (Upper Left: 0.0-0.5, 0.5-1.0)
    Socio-environmental Monitoring: [0.35, 0.90]
    Benefits Sharing Mechanisms: [0.45, 0.15]
    Forestry Science: [0.50, 0.95]
    Agriculture & Agroforestry: [0.50, 0.70]

    %% Potential Growth Areas (Lower Left: 0.0-0.5, 0.0-0.5)
    Project Safeguards: [0.25, 0.60]
    Human Rights: [0.25, 0.45]
    FPIC: [0.15, 0.35]
    Core Carbon Principles: [0.40, 0.35]
    Article 6 & Carbon Credits: [0.55, 0.30]

    %% Supporting Knowledge (Lower Right: 0.5-1.0, 0.0-0.5)
    Remote Sensing Applications: [0.85, 0.45]
    Fire Spatial Modeling: [0.70, 0.35]
    Data Visualization: [0.60, 0.40]
    Fire Management: [0.20, 0.20]

4- Short-experience

Experience by region

5- References

Academic references

I have had the opportunity to share closely with incredible people in the public, private and academic sectors.

I highlight the role in my bachelor carrer of a Antropologist Rober Dover who pass away. Robert teaches me soft skills to work with traditional communities. Who was he?,

I highlight the fact to had the possibility of having a classroom with ones of those teachers that think outside the black box and always are in the knowledge frontier:

• Britaldo Soares-Filho
• Sonia Maria Carvalho
• Dolors Almenteras

Profesional references:

Throughout my journey, I’ve had the privilege of working with amazing colleagues who have guided me in improving my work skills, time management, communication, and the ability to raise important concerns. Here are a few of the remarkable individuals I’ve had the pleasure of working:

Abel Marcarini: Abel is a carbon project lead for Brazil at Earthshot Labs. He has more than 10 years working on Nature Based Solutions for the voluntary carbon market and academic background in forestry. Before Earthshot Lab, Abel worked for Verra for two years and for South Pole for seven years.

Beatriz Zapata: Beatriz Zapata is a forest engineer with vast experience in carbon forest project initiatives. She has deep technical knowledge of methodologies, tools, and guidelines of the main standards used in the AFOLU sector, such as VCS, CCBS and Gold Standard. Beatriz work for South Pole since seven years ago.

Milena Agudelo: Milena is a manager for Nature Climate Solutions at Verra, responsible for reviewing registration and verification requests ensuring quality and integrity of ALM and WRC projects. She helps develop updates to existing rules and procedures and provides technical input for the development of new methodologies. Milena holds a bachelor’s degree in Forest Engineering and a MSc in Forestry and Environmental Conservation. Previously, she supported Climate Friendly and South Pole for six years.

David Montoya González David hold eight years of extensive experience in Remote Sensing and GIS. He leads the Remote Sensing and GIS team in TerraGlobal, using innovative software and tools that meet carbon market and impact standards and support community-based geospatial community monitoring. David worked for The National Department of Statistics (DANE) and South Pole for two years.

6- Tools

Category	Tool/Platform	Description
Tools
Project		- A cloud-based project management tool.
Collaboration		- A collaborative whiteboard platform that helps teams brainstorm, plan, and execute projects.
Project		- A project management platform to collaborate on tasks, and track progress.
Platforms
GIS Software		- A commercial GIS software package.
Remote Sensing		- A commercial remote sensing software package.
Remote Sensing		- A commercial remote sensing software package.
Remote Sensing		- A commercial remote sensing software package.
Databases
File Format		- A file format for storing geospatial data.
File Format		- A client library for storing spatial data in Python.
Open-source Software
REDD+ Analysis		- A free and open-source REDD+ analysis tool.
REDD+ Analysis		- A free and open-source REDD+ analysis tool.
Open-source Software
GIS Software		- A free and open-source GIS software package.
Remote Sensing		- A cloud-based platform for analyzing and visualizing geospatial data using Google’s infrastructure.
Programming Languages
Basic		- A popular general-purpose programming language for geospatial data analysis.
Basic		- A statistical programming language widely used for data analysis and visualization.
Basic		- A versatile programming language commonly used for web development and interactive map applications.