Earth Matters Team
Paola Ferreira, Associate Consultant
Paola is an environmental policy and strategy expert with 18 years of experience and proven ability to lead environmental initiatives in complex policy environments.
Her expertise is focused on formulating environmental proposals with solid scientific and technical basis, and high impact conservation results.
Her previous experience includes leading the Climate and Conservation team at Emirates Nature in association with WWF as well as key projects on energy efficiency and renewable energy in the UAE, and leading the development of Colombia’s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP).
Paola is a Biologist and a Civil Engineer from Los Andes University in Colombia and a MSc. in Technology & Policy from MIT.
Gregory Verutes, Associate Consultant
Gregory Verutes, Ph.D. brings a decade of experience applying natural capital and ecosystem-service assessment approaches, specifically the InVEST tools, for quantifying coastal and marine goods and services such as tourism, blue carbon, coastal risk reduction, and habitat conservation.
Dr. Verutes has led teams in the development of questions for stakeholders and scientific experts that ultimately leverage existing resources and feed into analytical tools to strengthen local capacity, and support decisions that can lead to better outcomes for people and nature. He specialises in data visualisation, synthesis, and reporting for sustainability science publications and other communication materials.
Charles Callaghan, Associate Consultant
Charles is a consultant and researcher with over five years of experience in climate change and sustainable development. A significant amount of Charles’ work has focused on the development of low-carbon and climate resilient projects and programmes, where he has advised a variety of institutions (including UN agencies, development finance institutions, government ministries, and fund managers) on the development of proposals to the Green Climate Fund and Adaptation Fund.
Charles has also helped found a technical assistance initiative designed to assist low and lower middle-income countries to develop strategies for accessing finance for projects related to their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and other low-carbon and development policies.
Riad Bestani, Associate Consultant
With more than 25 years of international experience across various industries, Riad has advocated his past years to Circular Economy in the manufacturing sector and has just recently joined the list of Environment experts in the Region.
His focus is to provide solutions to Sustainability and Recycling challenges which he did in his late role of GM by diverting waste from landfill for his waste generator customers. Since 2016, he has been actively promoting sustainable solutions with local UAE government bodies, including MOCCAE, from which he was awarded recognitions for his actions along with other entities such as Tadweer and Dubai Municipality.
Moaz Sawaf, Associate Consultant
Moaz is a conservation and environmental education expert, with over 30 years of experience in the UAE and wider MENA region. He cofounded the Arabia Leopard Trust in 1991 and has run tours focusing on ecotourism, culture and heritage, environmental awareness and survival in wilderness areas.
While working with Emirates Nature-WWF, he managed conservation and education projects, helping to establish Wadi Wurayah National Park in Fujeirah (UAE) and managed the blue flag and eco schools projects for the UAE. A native Arabic speaker, Moaz has Business Administration degree from Boulder University in Colorado, USA.
Victoria Guisado, Associate Consultant
Victoria is an environmental researcher with over 4 years of experience in academia and consulting, focusing her expertise on ecosystem services. Her research centers on devising economic strategies to address environmental challenges and evaluating the value of natural resources and environmental impacts. Notably, she has played an integral role in advancing the Ecosystem Services Valuation Database (ESVD).
She has collaborated with international organizations, national governments, and conservation groups worldwide.
Victoria holds an M.A. in Environment and Resource Management, specialising in Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity, from Vrije Universiteit (VU) Amsterdam.