CEPF Secretariat

Erika began as an intern for Conservation International’s Americas Field Division and has been providing volunteer communications services to the Women in Nature Network, including managing their e-news and social media. Erika has a degree in environmental and sustainability studies from George Mason University, and previously interned at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, supporting research on technical and nature-based solutions for sustainable ecosystem management. Born and raised in Guyana, Erika currently lives in Virginia and enjoys baking, gardening and video games in her spare time.

Caroline is the grants manager for the Mediterranean Basin and Mountains of Central Asia hotspots. A native of Northern Virginia, she received her bachelor of science degree in political science from Old Dominion University. In addition to ODU, Caroline has studied at the University of Leicester in the UK and at Harvard University. Prior to joining CEPF, she worked with grants, contracts and intellectual property at the National Science Foundation, International Trade Commission and Harvard. Her interest in ecosystems was sparked while hiking fresh lava fields in Hawaii.

Antonia joined the CEPF Secretariat in 2013 as a grants coordinator, grants manager and then senior grants manager. In her current role as director of grants management, Antonia oversees grant-making operations and matters relating to grantee risk management. Born and raised near the picturesque mountains of Switzerland, Antonia has a master’s in business management from the University of Geneva and a master’s in environment and development from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. 

Tracy joined CEPF as finance coordinator in 2022. Tracy holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration with a major in finance from the University of South Carolina. After graduation, she spent three years in Santiago, Chile, teaching English and working in finance for a wine distributor. Prior to her current postion, Tracy was a credit manager for U.S. Small Business Administration loan programs in New York City. Tracy is from Hilton Head, SC and currently lives in Denver, CO, where she enjoys gardening, hiking, and skiing.

Nina joined CEPF in 2001 and previously served as both a grant director and managing director. In addition to her current focus on monitoring and evaluation, Nina is developing a comprehensive learning program that will lead to increased capacity of CEPF’s grantees. With an undergraduate degree in anthropology from Harvard and a master’s in forest science from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Nina started her career with a focus on ethnobotany and plant trade. She spent nearly 12 years working on wildlife trade issues for several different organizations. 

Priscila joined CEPF in 2020 and serves as the grants manager for the Cerrado, Wallacea and East Melanesian Islands biodiversity hotspots. She was born and raised in São Paulo, Brazil, and moved to Washington, D.C., in 2006. Priscila has a master's in global affairs from George Mason University where she focused on both the human and economic aspects of international development. Prior to joining CEPF, Priscila worked as a state policy analyst for the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute.

Florencia provides direct support to the grants and contracts team for the Indo-Burma and Tropical Andes biodiversity hotspots. Prior to joining CEPF, Florencia worked for World Resources Institute (WRI) as a grants and contracts specialist, overseeing the financial and compliance management of its grants, contracts and cooperative agreements. Prior to WRI, she  worked for two consulting firms—Chemonics and DAI—supporting financial, administrative and contractual activities for USAID-funded projects. Florencia is originally from Argentina.

Julie joined the CEPF communications team as a writer/editor in 2008, and became communications director in 2010. Prior to working with CEPF, she was an editor for the Washington Examiner newspaper in Washington, D.C., and she also previously worked for the National Groundwater Association. Julie has a master of science in journalism from Ohio University and a bachelor of arts in English literature from Miami University, with a minor in Spanish. For her master’s program, Julie traveled to Uganda in 2004 to work as a writer and editor for the Ugandan newspaper The Weekly Observer.

Michele joined CEPF in 2001. She is currently the grant director for the Tropical Andes and Caribbean Islands hotspots, and has previously overseen several portfolios in the Americas. Prior to joining CEPF, Michele worked on assignments for USAID and the World Bank, with expertise in biodiversity conservation, coastal zone management, natural disaster prevention, and monitoring and evaluation. Her degrees in international environmental policy and the environmental science are from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and the College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry.