Deborah Lilienfeld has 20 years of experience at the intersection of sustainable economic development and conservation. She has worked with smallholder producers, artisanal fishers, and entrepreneurs in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, improving communities’ well-being and helping them to become environmental guardians and stewards.
Her current role at WWF-US involves creating economic opportunities for communities living in and around protected and conserved areas. She strives to match their desires and aspirations and contribute to their traditional way of life. She works to rethink what is possible and reorient our thinking and those of partners in conservation about what finance can do for these communities that safeguard our natural places.
Before joining WWF, Deborah provided advisory services to conservation NGOs and international conservation projects. Deborah's recent work has focused on creating new economic models to finance the conservation of marine protected areas, innovations that contribute to ocean sustainability, financial inclusion of women entrepreneurs, and economic strategies for Indigenous Peoples.
She has also worked for US-based economic development NGO TechnoServe, INC, where she developed strategies that supported an increase in income for over 80,000 smallholder producers in various countries in Latin America. She has also led the operations, strategy, and growth of impact investment funds for Conservation International and Fauna & Flora International, both from the field and at the head office. At the transaction level, Deborah has structured project finance investments at the Inter-American Development Bank and financed microfinance institutions with Incofin Investment Management.
Deborah holds a Master of Science Degree in Development Management from American University and a degree in International Studies from the University of Wisconsin. She is fluent in Portuguese, English, Spanish, and French and conversant in Bahasa Indonesia.
