Steve is a wetland scientist / geomorphologist with 25 years of experience in the response of coastal wetland systems to human impacts and climate change. Steve specializes in translating scientific information to formats accessible to policy and decision makers as well as senior-level managers. He also works within organizations, governments, and agencies to develop teams and initiatives that support capacity building. He regularly briefs US and Foreign governments, government agencies, and Federal, State, and local leaders. He was a lead author of the IPCC 2013 Wetland Supplement. He is an Approved Methodology Expert to the verified Carbon Standard. He leads the U.S. interagency/science community Coastal Wetland Carbon Working Group, incorporating coastal wetlands within the U.S. Inventory of GHG emissions and sinks. He also co-chairs the carbon advisory panel for the Global Environmental Facility Blue Forest Project and is the co-founder of International Blue Carbon Initiative.

Moritz has over 18 years of professional experience in international climate and low-carbon interventions. He specializes in climate finance and climate investments, institutional due diligence assessments, public-private partnership advice, and program evaluations. He has extensive experience advising governments at all levels, as well as international finance institutions and the private sector. Moritz is currently advising: the World Bank (FCPF Carbon Fund, Washington D.C.) with preparing a number of REDD+ recipient countries to become investment-ready; the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with the design of an investment fund focusing on coastal environments and blue carbon; the European Commission with an implementation assessment of the bloc’s free trade agreement and trade and sustainability agenda with Central American countries; and the German government with respect to international emissions trading.

Igino is a carbon project developer with more than 30 years of experience supporting the creation and development of world’s leading carbon projects. His international experience spans Europe, Southeast Asia, Africa and South America. He was a member of the CDM's A/R Working Group, is a member of the International Blue Carbon Scientific Working Group, and the lead author of the Verified Carbon Standard Wetland Restoration and Conservation requirements and various landuse-related GHG accounting methodologies. Igino is the original founder of Silvestrum in Europe.

Lisa is a coastal ecologist with over 20 years of experience studying wetland plant ecology, carbon cycling, and soil biogeochemistry. Using field, GIS, and spatial modeling tools and techniques, Lisa examines tidal wetland and marsh resilience to sea-level rise and other climate change impacts. Through her postdoctoral work as a fellow for the Smithsonian Institution, she studied latitudinal gradients in soil carbon storage and decomposition in wetlands and mangroves from Alaska to Panama, whole ecosystem carbon dynamics in the intertidal zones of the United Arab Emirates, and methane emissions from bald cypress trunks. As a postdoctoral researcher at the San Francisco Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Lisa collected data on variability in suspended sediment concentrations across channels, marshes and seasons, and modeled their effects on marsh accretion under different sea-level rise scenarios.

Leah is a marine scientist and practitioner with over 10 years of experience in ecosystem management and sustainable development. She has lived and worked across the tropics, developing marine management and climate finance initiatives that work for both nature and people. She has extensive experience working with teams to take projects from concept to reality, including some of the world’s first blue carbon projects. With a detailed understanding of all stages of project development and implementation – from pre-feasibility and financing to development, monitoring and evaluation – Leah is well placed to advise and support organizations, civil society, governments and agencies as they design and implement coastal ecosystem management and blue carbon strategies. Her particular areas of expertise are community empowerment, governance and social and environmental safeguards. With a Masters degree in Geophysics, she also has a detailed understanding of the remote sensing procedures used to study land use changes and model carbon stocks. In recognition of these expertise, Leah sits on various advisory panels and working groups, including Verra’s Blue Carbon Working Group, Plan Vivo’s Steering Group and the focal group for the International Partnership for Blue Carbon.

Franziska has 10 years of experience as a consulting in climate information and sustainable development for change and innovation. She has particular experience in workshop facilitation, assisting in clarifying paths for both public policy and policies for private sector clients. Franziska experience includes distilling information on gender equity, sustainable development goals, green economies, trade and development, nationally determined contributions and corporate farming strategies.

Rebeca has a degree in forestry engineering with a BS in forest restoration and an MS in ecological economics. Her main fields of expertise are remote sensing, climate change, REDD+ and negotiation processes under the UNFCCC. Since 2017 she has been working on research and methodologies for urban restoration and sustainable landscapes. Recently she led the process for the development of methods and technical guidance to update Costa Rica's blue carbon national inventory and baseline to support the national commitments under UNFCCC. She has been a member of the Legal and Environmental Research Strategy at the Center for International Sustainable Development Law, a member of the Legal Preparedness Network for Achieving the Aichi Biodiversity Targets as a national researcher for the International Development Law Organization (IDLO), technical advisor to SCS for the FSC scheme and consultant for Fundación PRISMA, CATIE, GIZ and others.

Cindy is a Marine Scientist from Mauritius who completed an ORISE fellowship at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and graduated from North Carolina State University, focusing her Ph.D. research on the assessment of blue carbon habitats. Throughout her graduate career, she applied different methods ranging from satellite remote sensing to water circulation models to fill the current knowledge gaps in the areal extent and carbon storage capacity of blue carbon sinks like seagrasses and salt marshes for better monitoring and management of such ecosystems in the face of climate and anthropogenic pressures. With her research expertise and knowledge, she will support Silvestrum in all stages of project development and implementation in the management of blue carbon ecosystems.

Mackenzie is a Wetland Scientist with 5 years of experience working with coastal ecosystems – from conducting research and restoration to policy development. She holds a BS in Earth & Soil Science and recently graduated with a MS in Marine Science. Her graduate research focused on estuarine blue carbon dynamics in the face of sea level rise, which she hopes will influence current and emerging regional policies to protect estuaries as vital carbon sinks. Mackenzie has a deep appreciation for coastal ecosystems gained through her work with non-profit and research institutions, as well as her undergraduate and graduate education. Across her career she has worked at the interface of science, policy, and people to develop robust solutions to the pressing issues coastal ecosystems and communities face. Mackenzie will support Silvestrum on the development of the Seascape Carbon Initiative and in analyses for emerging solutions in carbon storage.

Raquel is an LLM Candidate in the Public International Law programme at the University of Oslo (UiO), specializing in international economic law and sustainable development. She holds a bachelor's degree in law and is approved by the Order of Attorneys in Brazil (OAB). Besides 4 years of legal work, both for the public and private sector, she has personal experience in conservation of tropical forests and a great interest for environmental law, with most of her undergraduate research focused in the field. Raquel assists Silvestrum in its legal work concerning projects, programmes, and policy initiatives to generate greenhouse gases (GHG) benefits and other ecosystem services.

Adam is a plant physiologist, soil scientist, and farmer focused on understanding the interactions that influence agroecosystems and farmer livelihoods. His graduate studies at Cornell University focused on sustainable perennial fruit production systems and the biochemical response of crops to management practices. He has collaborated with various institutions on monitoring and improving soil health in smallholder coffee farms. Currently based in the outskirts of Bogota, Colombia, Adam also has experience advising beef and dairy farmers in their transition to regenerative farm management. With the Silvestrum team, Adam will be advancing carbon project development focused on regenerative agriculture, silvopastoral systems, and reforestation.