Stephanie Wester, a corporate engagement program officer on the WWF-US Forest team, partners with US companies to support nature-based solutions to benefit people, nature, and climate. In this role, she coleads WWF’s Nature-Based Solutions Origination Platform (NbS-OP) efforts in the Central Annamites landscape in Viet Nam. Together with colleagues from WWF-Viet Nam and WWF-Denmark, Stephanie helps design, plan, and implement strategies to address the major drivers of deforestation and degradation in the region.
Before joining WWF, Stephanie served as a program officer at Rainforest Trust. While there, she worked closely with nongovernmental organizations in the tropics to create protected areas for endangered species. She also spent two years in Tanzania as a Peace Corps volunteer. Her responsibilities included teaching high school biology, organizing youth engagement workshops, and leading a grassroots soccer club that used sports and games to educate children about HIV and malaria.
Stephanie earned a Bachelor of Arts in zoology with a certificate in environmental studies and a Master of Environmental Conservation from the University of Wisconsin Madison. Throughout her academic and professional career, Stephanie has enjoyed engaging with youth, from birdwatching with middle schoolers to giving presentations to kindergartners. She speaks Spanish and some Swahili.
