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Conservation Finance
Meet the Team
The WWF Conservation Finance team consists of talented, multi-national and multi-disciplinary professionals with expertise in law, business, finance and banking, and environmental management. We have extensive experience working in developing countries and emerging markets and across the WWF network. Our success derives from our ability to recognize, conceptualize and secure large and often multi-national investments to protect some of the world’s most valuable natural resources.
Eric Swanson
Managing Director, Conservation Finance and Planning
Eric directs the Conservation Finance and the Conservation Planning and Design Programs for WWF-US. Prior to WWF, Eric served as executive vice president and COO of Common Cause, executive director and CEO of the Radio Television News Foundation, and held senior positions at The Conservation Fund, Izaak Walton League, Connecticut Fund for the Environment, and the Vermont Environmental Conservation Agency. Eric has an MBA from Georgetown and a double BS degree in wildlife biology and environmental policy from University of Vermont. Eric currently serves on the Board of Directors of the South River Federation and has previously served on the Independent Sector Board of Directors, Image Television Group Board of Advisors, and several other boards and committees.
Melissa Moye
Director, Conservation Finance
Melissa develops sustainable financing and payment for ecosystem service strategies for WWF. Since joining WWF in 2001, she has helped create comprehensive sustainable financing programs in the Congo Basin and Madagascar. She was previously Vice President at the Debt-for-Development Coalition and has over 15 years experience serving as an advisor on conservation finance and external debt management for organizations such as Debt Relief International, UNDP, USAID and the World Bank. Earlier in her career, Melissa worked as a commercial banking officer at Manufacturers Hanover Trust and volunteered as an election supervisor in Cambodia. She has a bachelor’s degree from a Tufts University and a master's degree in international relations from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (USA).
Esteban Brenes
Director, Conservation Finance
Esteban provides strategic guidance and on-the-ground technical assistance in developing financial mechanisms across the WWF network, including debt-for-nature swaps, conservation trust funds and ecosystem payments schemes. Esteban recently helped design a fund for watershed conservation in Sierra de Las Minas in Guatemala and is currently identifying project sites for payments for ecosystem services mechanisms in other countries, including Brazil, Peru, Mexico and Indonesia. Esteban joined WWF in 2001 following five years as a consultant at the World Bank in the Latin American and Caribbean Division of the Environment Department. Originally from Costa Rica, Esteban worked as an associate at a law firm in San Jose on project finance, natural resources and international business transactions. He received a law degree from the Universidad de Costa Rica and a master’s degree in Environmental Law and Policy from George Washington University Law School.
Marie de Longcamp
Director, Conservation Finance
Marie provides leadership and technical support for the development and implementation of sustainable finance initiatives to support long-term, self-sustaining conservation programs. A native of Paris, France, Marie works primarily in French-speaking countries with a special emphasis on the Congo basin, the Mekong region and Madagascar. Prior to working for WWF-US, she joined the Paris office of WWF-France in March 2002, as manager in the Corporate and Conservation Partnerships Department. Marie has extensive experience in the private sector and worked for a Swedish merchandising company (1998-2001), where she was in charge of the development of client relations, and in sales for Otis (1995-98), an elevator company and a subsidiary of United Technologies. She graduated with an MBA in 1995.
Jon Tua
Senior Program Officer, Conservation Planning & Design
Jon provides leadership and technical support for the development of strategic plans and long-term financial forecasts for WWF priority conservation programs. His focus is on large mixed-use landscapes and protected area networks in Latin America and Africa. Prior to WWF, Jon was a consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers, and provided business strategy, financial management, process re-engineering, and systems expertise to multinational financial institutions and corporations. He has an MBA with a focus in nonprofit management from New York University, and a BA in economics from Columbia University.
Donna Choi
Program Associate, Conservation Finance and Planning
Donna provides research, analysis and technical support for the Conservation Finance team. Prior to joining WWF in 2006, Donna worked as a paralegal for the plaintiffs' class-action law firm, Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll where she was a member of the international human rights, antitrust and securities practice groups. In 2007, Donna founded an annual charity fundraiser to raise support and awareness for Pediatric AIDS/HIV Care, a local non-profit. Donna received bachelor degrees in sociology and environmental policy in 2004 from Brandeis University.
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