Anahita Yousefi
Founder & Executive Director

Anahita is a forest and climate expert with over a decade of experience working on international climate change policy, focusing on initiatives aimed at reducing deforestation in developing countries.  She has held senior positions with the Government of Norway, where she led several bilateral partnerships with Latin American forest countries.  She served as the Government of Norway’s Special Envoy on Climate and Forests to Brazil, directing the flagship 1 billion USD partnership with the Amazon Fund, Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), and leading the dialogue with the Brazilian government and civil society.                       

At the Norway’s Climate and Forest Initiative, she developed the Ministry’s strategy on private sector and supply chain work for partnerships in forest countries like Liberia, Peru, Colombia and Indonesia. She also directed efforts to establish a secretariat for the Tropical Forest Alliance 2020 at the World Economic Forum.  

In recent years, she has worked on corporate supply chains, undertaking corporate campaigns and legal strategies focused on agricultural giants driving deforestation. First as Latin America campaign Director at Mighty Earth and later at Rainforest Foundation Norway, where she established work focused on European markets, in particular Germany, France and Spain, as well as work with the European Union. Her investigations and campaigns have been featured in many publications including Le Monde, Der Spiegel, El País, The Guardian , The New York Times and Corriere della Sera . 

She has also worked on financial sector strategies to align portfolios with biodiversity and climate goals. She worked for the largest private Asset Manager in Norway, Storebrand, drafting a strategy for implementing their goal to become deforestation-free and contributing to the implementation of their climate goals. 

Anahita holds an MSc in Environmental Change and Management from the University of Oxford and a B.A. from the University of Oslo.

Arnaldo Carneiro
Research Associate

Arnaldo has vast professional experience, significant achievements in popularizing science, developing skills, some forays into business and philanthropy, strong diplomatic skills and a natural affinity for engaging and connecting people. His professional interest centers around sustainable Landscapes, forest restoration, smart agriculture and conservation.

Arnaldo gained extensive field knowledge as Senior Researcher, a National Research Institute of the Amazon (INPA). In addition to his academic work, Arnaldo has been contributing to policy development and project implementation, working with several key NGOs (WWF, TNC, ISA, Greenpeace, Global Canopy, Solidaridad, IDESAM), as a scientific collaborator and advisor.  Arnaldo has coordinated a research teams aimed to provide information and spatial models on key issues for Brazil to reduce deforestation, optimize land-use, build sustainable landscapes and promote compliance of the Law of Protection of Native Vegetation.  Before that as Scientific Director of the Secretariat of Strategic Affairs of the Brazilian Presidency,  presenting research informing the Territorial Intelligence Nucleus inside the Ministry of Agriculture aiming to combine agriculture expansion and ecosystems conservation. He also has international experience from Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Conogo, China, United Kingdom, China and the USA.  Arnaldon is an agronomist educated at Esalq-Universidade de Sao Paulo, he also holds Msc at the International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation, Holland, HD at the Geodynamics Laboratory of the University of Strasbourg, France post-doctorate at the University of Wageningen, Holland.

Priscilla Santos
Associate

Priscilla Santos is a climate change and environmental policy expert, with a long track record of working on policies to reduce deforestation, foster climate finance, international cooperation and sustainable development. 

 She was a Senior Advisor to the Secretariat of Strategic Affairs under the Brazilian Presidency on adaptation to climate change and long-term planning to address the impacts of climate change in strategic sectors, such as agriculture and land use, health and infrastructure; and led the creation of an adaptation knowledge platform called AdaptaClima. Priscilla also worked with capacity building in EU environmental law for the national judges in the EU Member States in the Academy of European Law, Germany. 

As Deputy Executive Director at Centro Brasil no Clima, she worked on political articulation with public, private and the civil society sectors and politicians for the ratification of the Paris Agreement in the Brazilian National Congress. As Programme Officer on climate change and forests; and women, peace and security at the Norwegian Embassy in Brasilia, Priscilla worked in the intersection between gender and climate policy and initiated the Embassy's portfolio on sustainable ocean economy, being responsible for facilitating the bilateral cooperation between Norway and Brazil.

In recent years, she has focused on assessing and developing climate finance and advocacy strategies to increase climate ambition, as well as on mainstreaming gender in climate policies, collaborating with partners such as the UN's Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, the German Development Cooperation (GIZ), the UN's Principles for Responsible Investment and WWF International. 

Priscilla holds an MSc in Nature, Society and Environmental Policy from the University of Oxford and is a post-graduated lawyer specialized in Urban and Environmental Law. She was born and raised in the Brazilian Amazon (Belém, Pará) and has academic and professional experience in Brazil, US, UK, Germany and Italy. 

Daniel Straulino
Research Associate

 Daniel is an applied mathematician and research scientist specializing in modelling complex data.

He has worked on a diverse set of topics, ranging from e-commerce to modelling population genetics, including experience as an FX-derivatives trader at HSBC, where he co-managed the algorithmic book which consistently posted profits of over 15 million USD per year.               

 In recent years he has focused on urban economics. Working with colleagues at the University Oxford and the University of Medellin, he has developed artificial intelligence tools that monitor commercial activity based exclusively on street view imagery.

In collaboration with the Alan Turing Institue, he has developed an industrial resilience framework to map possible pathways for cities facing the challenges of automation in the UK.

Daniel holds a BSc in Mathematics from The Autonomous Institute of Technology of Mexico (ITAM), a Master (MASt) in Mathematics from University of Cambridge and a DPhil in Statistics from the University of Oxford.