Board of Directors
Ainsley A. Henry
Ainsley A. Henry, J.P.,
His experience in the environmental sector includes his role as Manager of the successful “Caribbean Regional Resilience Investment Program” under the Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR), funded by the Climate Investment Funds and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and implemented through the Mona Research and Innovation Office of the University of the West Indies. This program was executed across six Caribbean countries: Haiti, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, and Jamaica.
At the beginning of his career, he worked with the Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA) and the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), holding various positions including Environmental Officer, Manager, and Director.
He holds a Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) in Environmental Management and a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) with dual majors in Botany and Zoology, both awarded by the University of the West Indies (Mona Campus). His interest and academic training in forestry date back to his undergraduate studies, during which he took courses in forestry and focused his graduate research on wetlands, including mangroves.
Ainsley has held various positions on boards and is a member of several professional associations. He served as President of the Forest Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (COFLAC) from 2021 to 2023. He is also a justice of the peace, a certified diver, and an avid hiker.
Herb Raffaele
El Dr. Raffaele Dr. Raffaele is a renowned ornithologist, conservation leader, and author of six books on birds and wildlife conservation. He led international conservation efforts at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, where he developed numerous conservation programs and managed over $20 million annually in grants, with initiatives spanning iconic species such as elephants, tigers, and rhinos, as well as regional training centers and global programs for the conservation of critically important wetlands worldwide.
He has played a pivotal role in representing the United States in international treaties, including the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, the Trilateral Canada/Mexico/United States Agreement for the Conservation and Management of Wildlife and Ecosystems, the Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW) in the Caribbean, and the Convention for the Protection and Preservation of Nature and Wildlife in the Western Hemisphere, among others.
Dr. Raffaele is deeply convinced that conservation efforts cannot succeed unless social values remain at their core. To address this challenge, he authored the book… Revoyage of the Mayflower: Societal Values—Conservation’s Driving Force, in which he proposes a nine-element framework to ensure that conservation efforts are truly effective.
For his achievements, he has received numerous awards, including the Alexander Skutch Medal, the International Wetland Person of Significance title awarded by the Ramsar Convention, the Omar Dengue Prize, and the Gary T. Myers Award, among others. He also received a lifetime achievement award BirdsCaribbean.
Jacklyn Rivera-Wong
Jacklyn Rivera-Wong is a professional forester with a master’s degree in environmental management and audits with a focus on climate change. From 2016 to 2024, she served as Director of Costa Rica’s National Wetland Program and Ramsar Focal Point, acting as a negotiator at Ramsar COP meetings and representing Central American countries on the Ramsar Convention’s Standing Committee for two consecutive terms.
She coordinated national efforts with multiple stakeholders, leading Costa Rica’s National Blue Carbon process and contributing to the development of national and regional policies and strategies for the conservation of wetlands and marine-coastal ecosystems. Additionally, she implemented cooperation projects with international organizations such as the Global Environment Facility, the French Environment Fund, and the French Development Agency .
Previously, Jacklyn served as a Technical Advisor in the Vice Ministry of Water and Oceans of Costa Rica, within the Ministry of Environment (2012–2015), coordinating marine and coastal processes such as the National Maritime Surveillance and Monitoring Strategy and the Lionfish Control Strategy, while also advising on and overseeing environmental crimes at the national level before the Administrative Environmental Court (2009–2012). Earlier, she was responsible for regional forest utilization programs within the National System of Conservation Areas, where she participated in forest monitoring and anti-corruption initiatives.
She is a descendant of Chinese migrants through her two maternal great-grandfathers, who traveled to Central America and the Caribbean in the early 20th century to improve their commercial prospects during World War II.
She currently serves as a national reference on the sustainable management of wetland ecosystems, including blue carbon reservoirs. Jacklyn was elected to the Board of Directors in 2024.
John Bowleg
John A. Bowleg is a Professional Engineer and Senior Hydrologist with over thirty years of experience in engineering, environmental science, and hydrology across the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
Since 2005, he has worked with AEES Consulting Group, LLC as a Consulting Engineer and Water & Environment Manager, overseeing projects in civil engineering, environmental monitoring, coastal zone management, hydrological design, reverse osmosis, renewable energy, waste management, and wetlands. He currently serves as National Project Coordinator (Bahamas) for the expansion of resilient marine technologies, including research and development of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC).
Between 2019 and 2021, he served as Deputy General Manager of the Division of Internal Control and Compliance, and also as Head of the Water Resources Management Unit, leading the assessment of groundwater resources across the Commonwealth of The Bahamas—a role he has held since 1999.
John has extensive international experience in water and sanitation issues, having collaborated with the OEA, UNESCO, 0MM, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, and the IWA. At the 9th Conference of the Parties to Ramsar in 2005, he was appointed regional representative and elected Vice-Chair of the Ramsar Convention’s Standing Committee.
Under UNESCO’s International Hydrological Programme (IHP-IX, 2022–2029), he serves as Vice-Chair for Priority Area 1 (Scientific Research and Innovation) and leads Science-Based Water Governance for Resilience (Priority Area 5). Since 2021, he has chaired the IHP Working Group on Ecohydrology for Latin America and the Caribbean. Additionally, he is Treasurer of the PACE Foundation (Bahamas).
Krishna K. Roy
Krishna K. Roy is a conservationist and social activist with over four decades of experience in the nonprofit sector. She has held leadership roles in program development, strategic planning, communications, capacity building, fundraising, and public engagement across a wide range of environmental and social causes.
Krishna served as Chief of Global Programs in the International Conservation Division of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Her career includes executive leadership roles at Island Press, the San Diego Zoo Society, the Environmental Law Institute, and the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation. She has also collaborated with organizations such as The Nature Conservancy, New York University, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Wolf Trap Foundation, and the Marine Conservation Institute. Currently, she is a Senior Advisor to Netcentric Campaigns and the North American Association for Environmental Education.
Between 2010 and 2015, she represented the Government of the United States at the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and co-chaired the Western Hemisphere Migratory Species Initiative. She played a pivotal role in the adoption of a hemispheric plan for the conservation of migratory birds during the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species in Ecuador.
She has raised over $80 million for environmental and social initiatives and has led award-winning media campaigns in partnership with Discovery, BET, Telemundo, Chevrolet, and Anheuser-Busch. She is a co-founder of the Save the Tiger Fund—the largest conservation fund dedicated to a single species. Her leadership in communication includes the acclaimed documentary… The Garden of EdenOscar-nominated, and Killing Our Oceanswinner of the Telly Award.
She holds a B.A. (Honors) in Political Science from Jadavpur University (India) and a master’s degree in Comparative History and Television Production from the University of Michigan. She serves on several boards, including AQUA and the John Lewis Institute for Peace.
Marcela Torres
Marcela Torres is a biologist with over fifteen years of experience in planning, managing, and strengthening Ecuador’s National System of Protected Areas. During her tenure at Ecuador’s Ministry of Environment, Water, and Ecological Transition, she supported the development of the Strategic Plan for the National System of Protected Areas (2022–2032), participated in the formulation of management plans for protected areas, zoning methodologies, tools for evaluating effectiveness, and technical regulations for protected area management.
She also served as the focal point for the Programme of Work on Protected Areas (PoWPA) under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and was a member of the Effective Management Group of the Latin American Network for Technical Cooperation in National Parks, Other Protected Areas, and Wild Flora and Fauna (REDPARQUES), promoting capacity building and regional coordination for protected area management.
Between 2012 and 2025, she served as Ecuador’s National Ramsar Focal Point, coordinating the designation of new wetland sites—including Cuyabeno–Lagartococha–Yasuní, Yacurí, and Lagunas del Compadre—representing the country at multiple Conferences of the Parties (COP), and leading the development of National Reports on the implementation of the Ramsar Convention in Ecuador. Additionally, she spearheaded the execution of regional initiatives and projects for the integrated management of high-Andean wetlands, mangroves, and coral ecosystems.
Her experience has been developed through close interinstitutional coordination with diverse stakeholders, including government agencies, cooperation organizations, academia, and civil society, with a strong emphasis on the implementation of conservation policies and programs.
Mark Taylor
Mark Taylor has over thirty years of experience in the Australian Government as a senior executive, the last ten of which were spent in the Australian Government’s Department of the Environment. These roles included managing national parks, Indigenous co-management and engagement, and developing national policies on protected areas, as well as representing Australia in ongoing negotiations of the Nagoya Protocol (on access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing) under the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Between 2016 and 2020, he worked in the Commonwealth of Australia’s Water Environmental Office, managing water licenses and allocations owned by the Australian Government in northern parts of the Murray-Darling Basin to support river and wetland health. He also served as Australia’s Administrative Authority under the Ramsar Convention (Wetlands, IUCN), Vice-Chair of the Ramsar Standing Committee from 2016 to 2018, and Head of the Australian Delegation at Ramsar COP XIII in Dubai, where he led the complex negotiations of an Australian resolution on the conservation, restoration, and management of coastal blue carbon ecosystems—a resolution successfully adopted at the COP.
His work has involved substantial engagement with local communities and Indigenous peoples, governments at all levels, agricultural businesses, universities, research centers, philanthropists, and other governmental entities. Since his retirement in 2020, Mark has remained actively engaged in environmental issues as a consultant on regulatory frameworks for protected area systems, water environmental management, and Indigenous co-management of protected areas. Mark resides in Canberra, Australia.
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