Romas Garbaliauskas
Conservation Trust Funds Lead, Strategic Planning and Finance, Earth for Life
As the conservation trust funds (CTF) lead for the Strategic Planning and Finance team at WWF-US, Romas leads CTF processes for WWF Project Finance for Permanence (PFP) initiatives, including identification, assessment, selection, establishment or supporting, designing governance, and operationalization of CTFs. He also plays a key role in drafting and refining closing and disbursement conditions for PFPs.
Before joining WWF, Romas spent more than 17 years at Conservation International, mostly leading a team that provided legal support for its nature finance division. This included leading the establishment of more than 30 CTFs in the Global South, as well as supporting CI’s small and medium-sized enterprise lending platform, CI Ventures, and its Carbon Finance Program.
Romas also led the Nature Finance Innovation Program, which works with country programs, scientists, and external partners to increase the deployment of debt and equity investments at scale into nature. This is done by developing or replicating innovative early-stage business and investment models. Before that, Romas spent more than 10 years practicing as an international finance lawyer, including with the global law firm of White & Case LLP, the International Finance Corporation, and the African Development Bank.
More on Romas
Education
- University of Toronto, BASc, Industrial Engineering
- Queen's University, Faculty of Law, LL.B, Law
- New York University School of Law, LL.M, International Legal Studies
Areas of Expertise
- Conservation Trust Funds
- Nature Finance
- Carbon Finance