ACA Staff
In Peru
Cesar Moran-Cahusac, ACA’s Executive Director, was born in Lima, Peru. He received a master’s degree in Environmental Management from the Yale School of Forestry. He has worked on a vast array of conservation projects. At the Agrarian University of Lima—La Molina, where he studied animal sciences, he developed a hands-on environmental educational program based on organic gardening for schoolchildren in Lima. Later, he worked for seven years as the project coordinator for the Machu Picchu Program, a debt-for-nature swap between the countries of Finland and Peru that supported the Machu Picchu Natural Sanctuary in environmental issues. Cesar is based in Puerto Maldonado.
Adrian Tejedor, ACA’s Science Director, was born in Havana, Cuba, and has worked extensively throughout the Neotropics studying evolution and biogeography. Based at our field station in Madre de Dios, Peru, he coordinates research, courses, and the ACA grants program. Adrian has a BS in Biology from the University of Miami, and a PhD in Ecology, Evolution and Behavior from City University of New York. He is also a research associate at the American Museum of Natural History.
In Washington, DC
Megan MacDowell, ACA’s DC-based Senior Program Manager, has worked for several major conservation organizations including the Nature Conservancy, the World Wildlife Fund, and Conservation International. She has also led ecology and sustainable development study programs in Brazil and Costa Rica for Antioch Education Abroad and International Student Volunteers. Before ACA, Megan worked with Conservation International’s Education and Social Marketing program, where she supported field staff in designing and carrying out environmental education programs focused on behavior change. Megan has a BA in Biology and Environmental Studies from Swarthmore College and a master’s in Sustainable Development and Conservation Biology from the University of Maryland.
Amy Rosenthal, ACA’s Deputy Director for Projects, develops conservation initiatives with ACCA staff. She has been a Research Associate at the Federal University of Acre in Acre, Brazil, and a director of Florestas das Crianças, an environmental education training program. She was also a research consultant for the book The Last Forest: the Amazon in the Age of Globalization. She holds an MA from Stanford University and a BA from Amherst College.
Gena Mavuli, ACA’s DC-based Program Manager, has worked in sustainable development and education in Central and South America. While teaching in El Salvador, she led student trips to Costa Rican and Salvadoran provinces emphasizing environmental awareness practices. Most recently, she worked with LIFE Argentina and Guaraní populations in sustainable development and community involvement. Gena holds an MA from the Universidad Torcuato di Tella, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and a BA from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Doris Holt, Director of Finance and Accounting for ACA, has a PhD in Business Administration from the University of Michigan and has worked for the last thirty years as an educator and consultant to nonprofit, for-profit, and public sector organizations. She is currently serving as co-executive director of MSO Services, a nonprofit consulting and accounting organization.
In Bolivia
Jasivia Gonzales, ACA-Bolivia’s Research Coordinator, worked as a researcher for several prestigious Bolivian organizations including the National Herbarium of Bolivia and the Natural History Museum in La Paz prior to joining ACA-Bolivia in 2004. Jasivia participated in studies demonstrating the economic importance of the use of plants at the National Park Integrated Management Office of Cotapata, Bolivia in addition to many research projects on vegetation and fern life in the Andean mountain range of Real de La Paz. She holds a PhD in Natural Science from the Georg-August de Goettingen University in Germany, where her research centered on botany and ecology of the high-Andean vegetation. Jasivia holds a BA in Biology from the San Andres University of La Paz, Bolivia.
Jhonny Ayala, Coordinator of Zoology for ACA-Bolivia, earned his master’s degree in Ecology and Conservation at the University of San Andrés, Bolivia. Jhonny has worked on various field studies, including monitoring hunting in indigenous communities and radiotelemetry of mammals and reptiles. Jhonny has a wide knowledge of traditional use of fauna by indigenous communities in Bolivia. He has worked with several conservation organizations, including BOLBOR, VAIPO, CIDDEBENI, and WCS-CABI.
Marcos Teran, Researcher for ACA-Bolivia, is a specialist in mammal population dynamics with an emphasis on bats. He has a BA in Biology from the University of San Andrés, Bolivia, and holds an MA in the Management and Conservation of Tropical Biodiversity. Marcos is a member of the IUCN’s Mammal Specialist Group in Bolivia and is part of various conservation programs such as the Bolivian Program for Bat Conservation (PCMB) and the Bolivian Association of Mammal Researchers (ABIMA).
Sulema Castro, ACA-Bolivia’s Accountant, holds an MA in Public Administration from the University of San Andrés. She brings with her more than 20 years of professional experience including managing projects through environmental organizations, the World Bank, the Ecological Institute, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Organization of American States, and many others.
ACA Executive Director Cesar Moran visits with Brazil nut harvesters. Photo: Miguel Moran
ACA-Bolivia staff on an expedition to record the plant diversity in the Pampas del Heath. Photo: ACA
ACCA staff prepare the strategic plan in Puerto Maldonado, Peru. Photo: Nurymar Feldman
ACA-DC staff members at a planning retreat in August 2008. Photo: Nigel Pitman
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