Building Bridges Event: What’s Next for Nature Markets?

Alexander Barkawi is the founder and director of the Council on Economic Policies (CEP) – an international economic policy think tank for sustainability focused on fiscal, monetary and trade policy. Prior to his decision to build up CEP, he was the managing director of SAM Indexes and thus responsible for developing the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI) into a key reference point for sustainability investing. Alex is a graduate in economics (M.A.) of the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, where he also wrote his PhD thesis on “Social Change in Egypt in the 1990s”. He grew up in Germany and Egypt and today lives in Zurich, Switzerland. 

Joanne is the Senior SDG Investment Advisor in UNDP Africa Finance Sector Hub (AFSH) supporting countries to accelerate investments that align with SDG goals.  Prior to joining the AFSH, Joanne was the Regional Advisor: Climate Change and Innovative Finance based in UNDP Indonesia’s Innovative Finance Lab (IF Lab) where she was providing technical advice on financing SDGs.

Joanne is passionate about fighting climate change and generating development results by leveraging innovative financing mechanisms.  Over the past eight years she supported countries in Asia Pacific to strengthen planning and budgeting systems and implement public financial reforms that incentivize climate action.  She pioneered UNDP’s work on innovative financing solutions such as green bonds, Islamic finance and blended finance mechanisms for energy and other infrastructure projects while also working with private sector partners in the impact investment space.

Joanne holds an MSc. Environment and Development from the University of London.   Joanne worked for 12 years with UK DFID as Livelihoods and Climate Change Advisor developing social protection, disaster management, urban poverty reduction and climate change adaptation programmes in Africa and South Asia before joining UNDP BRH in 2013.

She is the mother to three inquisitive children, wife to one incredible husband and enjoys music and reading in her rare spare time!

José Pugas is Partner and Head of Responsible Investments and Engagement at JGP Asset Management. He is a political scientist with over 15 years of experience in sustainability and finances, leading different projects in Brazil and LATAM. Currently, José Pugas is an active member of think tanks and international forums dedicated to discussing regenerative finances, nature-based solutions and just transition. 

Judson Berkey is a Managing Director in the Chief Sustainability Office at UBS based in Zurich where he has worked since 2003 on global risk, regulatory and compliance topics. He currently focuses on sustainable finance policy and regulation including engagement with policymakers and standard setters. He graduated from Harvard Law School and the University of Virginia and is on the board of ECOFACT. He currently chairs the Institute of International Finance Sustainable Finance Working Group and is a member of the Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures.

Julie McCarthy is the Managing Director at Nature Finance. She has 20 years of nonprofit and philanthropic leadership experience in the areas of economic justice and financial governance.

Most recently, Julie served as senior advisor to the chair of the WHO Council on the Economics of Health for All, focused on ensuring that national and global economies and finance are advancing a healthy population and planet.

From 2019-2021 Julie was the founding co-director of the Open Society Foundations’ (OSF) Economic Justice Program where she led an $11 million global advocacy campaign on debt and financing economic recovery in low- and middle-income countries. From 2013-2019, she founded and led the OSF’s Fiscal Governance Program.

Prior to this Julie served as the founding director of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), after working with the Obama White House and Brazilian government to develop and launch the effort. In 2009, Julie was selected as a Franklin Fellow and peacebuilding adviser at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, where she helped scope and launch a $30 million peacebuilding program in Liberia. Prior to this, McCarthy directed the Open Society Foundations’ Revenue Watch Program and then co-founded the Natural Resource Governance Institute, serving as its deputy director until 2009.

She is currently a nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Center for Sustainable Development as well as an Aspen/ADL Civil Society Fellow, and lives with her three children in Warwick, NY.

Mariana is a specialist in environmental policy and strategy. She has a Master’s in Environmental Policy and Management from Yale University and is a Professional in Political Science and Environmental Studies from Tulane University. He has more than 8 years of experience in the development and implementation of environmental sustainability strategies for companies, governments, and communities in Latin America and the United States. 

Mark Opel is an independent conservation finance consultant. He currently serves as the Finance Lead for the Campaign for Nature, which advocates for protecting at least 30% of the planet by 2030, mobilizing financial resources to ensure protected areas are effectively managed and approaching biodiversity conservation in a way that fully integrates and respects Indigenous leadership and Indigenous rights. He has led CFN’s finance and resource mobilization efforts since the campaign’s inception in 2018. 

Mark also recently served as a finance adviser to the Frankfurt Zoological Society, where he helped to develop the Legacy Landscapes initiative, with the goal to provide long-term funding to protected areas in developing countries that achieve measurable biodiversity outcomes. He performed the original financial research, helped to develop the strategy and engaged with NGO partners, the German government and private philanthropists to launch the Legacy Landscapes Fund, which now has over $300 million of financial resources. 

Mark’s career includes over 30 years in the private sector. He spent 18 years in senior fundraising and business development roles at private equity firm American Capital, which managed over $80 billion in assets prior to its acquisition in 2016. He developed new funds to grow American Capital’s asset management business, led the firm’s expansion into Europe and oversaw the creation of the largest origination platform in the industry. 

Prior to American Capital, Mark spent 12 years in management positions in energy conservation and renewable energy, serving as President of off-grid solar company SunLight Power International and Chief Operating Officer at energy conservation services firm SYCOM. 

Mark has an AB in economics from Harvard College and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He is a lifelong conservationist and currently serves on the board of the Caribbean chapter of The Nature Conservancy. Mark resides in Boulder, Colorado and Gilford, New Hampshire with his wife Robin. 

Matt leads WBCSD’s work at the nexus of Nature Positive and the Agri-Food system. He joined WBCSD in 2022, bringing nearly two decades of sustainability leadership including corporate ESG in the forest products manufacturing sector, USAID economic development contracting, and community development with the US Peace Corps. Matt has an MBA from Vanderbilt University and in 2022 followed his partner to relocate in Edinburgh, UK. 

Stephanie Betts is a lawyer, entrepreneur, and Head of Alliances, Coalitions, and Reporting for Aon’s Climate Team. Stephanie spent almost 20 years working in various positions at M&G, J.P. Morgan, and Citi Bank, and is a senior member of the Governance Committee of Women in Banking and Finance. She is passionate about promoting sustainable food systems, biodiversity, and water security