






Our Team
The Emergent team is an experienced, multifaceted group of individuals, from diverse backgrounds and regions, who share a common commitment to protect tropical forests for planet, nature and people.

Eron Bloomgarden
CEO and Founder
Bio:
Why forests are important to me:
Forests are more than just climate solutions. They are our oldest teachers, our first home, and a living reminder of what it means to be human.

Sean Frisby
Chief Partnerships Officer
Bio:
Why forests are important to me:
They're a big part of where/how I grew up, and I don't want to imagine my children's (or anyone's!) future without them.

Eric Pitt
Chief Commercial Officer
Bio:
Why forests are important to me:
Forests are home to plants, animals, fungi, bacteria, and more - life intertwined in ecosystems of stunning complexity.

Katherine Zamsky
Chief Financial Officer
Bio:
Why forests are important to me:
Forests absorb CO₂ and purify air and water; protecting forests enables us to leave a healthier planet for future generations.

Georgie Duffin
Chief of Staff
Bio:
Why forests are important to me:
They are a vital resource for maintaining life on our planet. We deplete them at our own cost.

Alejandra Cicero
Executive Vice President
Legal
Bio:
Why forests are important to me:
Forests support the clean air, fresh water, and healthy ecosystems that make life possible.

Amybeth Garcia-Bokor
Senior Vice President
Legal & Compliance
Bio:
Why forests are important to me:
Forests are the heart of our planet’s health - and ours.

Andréa Aguiar Azevedo
Advising Vice President
Brazil Origination
Bio:
Why forests are important to me:
Forests protect the livelihoods of millions of people who rely on them every day for culture, home, and opportunity.

Andreas Torres
Associate
Finance & Accounting
Bio:
Why forests are important to me:
Forests are important to me because they sustain life, protect our climate, and connect us to the natural world.

Anna Affranio
Associate
Transactions
Bio:
Why forests are important to me:
When protected and well managed, forests create jobs, investment, and justice for local communities.

Annabel van der Kooy
Data Manager
Commercial
Bio:
Why forests are important to me:
Forests are our planet's lungs and home to many people, plants, and animals.

Ariel Matalon
Strategy & Special Projects Fellow
Strategy & Special Projects
Bio:
Why forests are important to me:
Forests contain so much of the world's biodiversity and beauty; these ecosystems help to sustain livelihoods, provide clean air & water, and regulate climate.

Carol Burga
Director, Indigenous Peoples and Local
Communities Stakeholder Engagement
Bio:
Why forests are important to me:
Forests connect people, land, and life. They hold stories and ancestral knowledge, showing how humans and nature sustain one another and thrive together.

Charlie Leech
Director
Corporate Engagement
Bio:
Why forests are important to me:
Forests provide a biodiversity rich environment for people and nature to thrive. As a wilderness explorer, I am inspired to protect and preserve the natural world.

Christopher Coman-Manu
Vice President
Transactions
Bio:
Why forests are important to me:
All human life depends on these biotic communities. They regulate the climate, the water cycle, provide a basis for essential medicines and a lifeline to many communities. They are not a resource, they are life and a vital pillar for human well-being.

Daisy Payne
Manager
Marketing & Communications
Bio:
Why forests are important to me:
Forests remind me that nature is always changing. No two visits are ever the same - you will always see something that inspires you or brightens your day.

Edwina McKechnie
Executive Vice President
Corporate Engagement
Bio:
Why forests are important to me:
Forests are among our strongest nature-based tools for addressing climate change while supporting local economies and communities.

Emma Dowuona-Hammond
Executive Assistant
Bio:
Why forests are important to me:
Forests are full of beauty, life, mystery and peace.

Eric Parfait Essomba
Advising Vice President
Origination (Africa)
Bio:
Why forests are important to me:
Forests sustain the livelihoods of over 1.6 billion people globally.

Fernanda Ferreira
Advising Director
Brazil Origination
Bio:
Why forests are important to me:
Forests are important to me because they are living systems that connect people, nature, and the planet’s future in profound ways.

Joana Vaz
Senior Vice President
Transactions
Bio:
Why forests are important to me:
Protecting forests means protecting life itself - they sustain our planet, nurture wildlife, and support humanity.

Judit Sarabia
Executive Assistant
Bio:
Why forests are important to me:
Childhood walks in the forest made me aware of nature's importance, forests are at the heart of life on Earth.

Katie Deeg
Manager
Strategy & Policy
Bio:
Why forests are important to me:
Forests have always felt like a sanctuary, where I feel at peace.

Kelsey Close
Analyst
Corporate Engagement
Bio:
Why forests are important to me:
Forests have been doing climate work since long before it was cool.

Leks Olubodun
Vice President
Funding Governance and Impact
Bio:
Why forests are important to me:
Forests are one of the most effective natural solutions we have for tackling climate change and sustaining livelihoods and local communities.

Nina Hrisos
Analyst
Strategy & Communications
Bio:
Why forests are important to me:
I feel at peace when I'm in the forest. They provide for and protect us in so many unseen ways, and we should do all we can to protect them!

Nina Kiernan
Head
Human Resources and Operations
Bio:
Why forests are important to me:
The forest is where I breathe deeper, think clearer, and feel smaller in the best way.

Paz Lozano
Senior Vice President
Origination
Bio:
Why forests are important to me:
Forests remind me that I am an inextricable part of nature and they fill me with a profound sense of awe and peace.

Phil Brady
Executive Vice President
Marketing & Communications
Bio:
Why forests are important to me:
Without healthy forests we will not win the battle against climate change.

Pietro De Biase
Advising Manager
Transactions
Bio:
Why forests are important to me:
Forests have the key that unlocks any future worth having.

Subash Pandey
Analyst
Partnerships
Bio:
Why forests are important to me:
Forests are important to me because my family used to depend on them for a living.

Zoe Bienvenu
Director
Origination
Bio:
Why forests are important to me:
Forests are important to me because I grew up in countries where they are disappearing at an alarming pace.
Country Representatives

Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc
Consultant Country Representative, Viet Nam
Bio:
Ngoc is currently serving as Emergent’s Country Representative in Vietnam since November 2022. Based in Viet Nam, Ngoc brings over 15 years of experience in climate change and forest carbon market landscape. Prior to Emergent, Ngoc has held key roles including Carbon Expert, REDD+ Development Consultant, Coordinator at several international development organizations such as USAID, GIZ, FFI. Ngoc excels in leading diverse teams, building extensive networks with government agencies, and driving impactful environmental projects. Ngoc holds a Master’s in Climate Change from Vietnam National University, Hanoi.

Dr. Shambhu Prasad Dangal
Consultant Country Representative, Nepal
Bio:
Dr. Shambhu Prasad Dangal holds a PhD in the Economics of Forest Management and brings over 35 years of professional experience in forestry, natural resource management, climate change, REDD+, and community livelihoods working closely with government institutions, bilateral projects, international organizations, and the private sector across Nepal, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, and North Korea. Since 2010, he has been actively engaged with the Government of Nepal in advancing the national REDD+ agenda. He currently serves as the Nepal Country Representative of Emergent, where he leads efforts to advance jurisdictional REDD+ initiatives.

Interested in joining our mission to mobilize finance to protect and restore tropical forests?
Explore current opportunities below.
