By Julie Shaw
The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund has chosen a new executive director.
Patricia Zurita, senior director of Conservation International’s Conservation Stewards Program (CSP), has been chosen to head CEPF. She replaces Jørgen Thomsen, who left the post to become director of conservation and sustainable development for the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Zurita has headed CSP for the last five years, directing community conservation agreements in 17 countries. She will officially start in her new role with CEPF on March 1. Prior to leading CSP, she worked as the director of economics and policy of the Conservation International Andes Program.
She also previously worked with the economics program of the World Resources Institute, developing payment for water services in Panama, Vietnam and Kenya and supporting the development of a phosphorous and nitrogen trading system in the Mississippi Basin and the Chesapeake Bay in the United States.
“Patricia has demonstrated a true gift for nurturing healthy relationships between communities and their environments,” said Peter Seligmann, chairman and CEO of CI. “The experience and energy she brings to her new post will reinforce CEPF’s important role in conserving ecosystems for the benefit of people and nature.”
A native of Ecuador, Zurita earned her bachelor’s degree from San Francisco University in Quito, and worked for three years with the country’s Park Service before winning a coveted World Bank Scholarship that allowed her to attend Duke University to complete her master’s degree in natural resource economics.
Zurita says she is eager to put her experience in economics and grassroots conservation efforts to work for CEPF, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.
“CEPF has done a superb job empowering civil society to protect some of the most important areas for biodiversity on the planet,” Zurita said. “I am honored and eager to lead this amazing program, building on the solid experience of the last 10 years and looking to expand its impact for the years to come.”
The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund is a joint initiative of l’Agence Française de Développement, Conservation International, the Global Environment Facility, the Government of Japan, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the World Bank.