| Staff and Board |
StaffMatthew Watherston Matthew Watherston travelled to the Amazon in the beginning of 2007 and saw how the impact of westernization and industrial development was destroying the traditions of the indigenous people and the environment across the Amazon at large. He founded Alianza Arkana with the commitment to help preserve the Amazon rainforest, indigenous rights and traditions. Before coming to the Amazon, Matthew worked as operations director for a large property developer and real estate company in Spain. After a profound experience in the Amazon his life changed dramatically and his heart called him to leave behind his business career. His previous management experiences have enabled him to have successfully developed Alianza Arkana, minus the competitive and ego-driven environment. He has built an organization focused on environmental justice and human rights through building a network of people working together in an atmosphere of service and integrity all deeply dedicated to facilitating social change. Brian Best Brian Robert Best is an anthropologist from the University of Nebraska, specializing in environmental issues. Brian first arrived to the Amazon in 2004 to do research in rural development. Since then, he has been working on researching and developing waste management programs geared to small Amazonian communities. In 2008, Brian led the execution of a pilot waste management program in the community of San Francisco. The project was a success and, four years after implementation, is still running. Paul Roberts Paul Roberts has been involved in education all his life. His primary school education was reasonably enlightened but secondary school introduced him to the injustice of the English public school system, and left him with a lifelong desire to transform educational practices. He has a degree in Social and Political Sciences from Cambridge University, a Masters in Human Resource Development from South Bank University, London, and a Doctorate from the Center for Action Research at Bath University. He lived for seven years in Mexico, working as a Professor at the University of Guadalajara. He first visited the Peruvian Amazon in January 2010 where he was amazed at both the richness and diversity of the natural environment and the extraordinary culture and cosmovision of the Shipibo people. In the summer of 2011, he moved to Pucallpa, Peru to be Director of Education for Alianza Arkana. Amanda Garratt Amanda Garratt comes to Alianza Arkana with a strong background in environmental and social justice. She came to Peru as a Fulbright scholar in 2009 where she began working with the Shipibo for the first time on a photography project that documents environmental injustices facing these communities. Before this she worked in Washington DC on a USAID Amazon Conservation project and also in Detroit, Michigan where she worked with the Environmental Justice Initiative on environmental health community research. Amanda has a joint Masters degree from the University of Michigan in Natural Resources and the Environment and Macro Social Work, in which she focused on community organizing around environmental justice. Reagan Kuhn Reagan Kuhn works in online strategy for Alianza Arkana. Having worked in online communications for Human Rights First in New York City, she came to the Amazon on an exploratory trip to study environmental and human rights issues. Originally from the United States, she has lived in Paris, Vietnam, and now Peru, studying and working in international development, environmental issues, and human rights for various research, funding, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), including WWF, GRET, Ford Foundation, and others. She has an undergraduate degree from Boston University in English and Ancient Greek and Latin and a Masters Degree from Sciences Po Paris in International Affairs. Darrin Mortenson Darrin Mortenson is a writer and journalist with years of experience covering on-the-ground conflict. Prior to his involvement in the Peruvian Amazon, Darrin covered the recent war in Iraq for magazines, newspapers and television, and covered environmental justice issues in the Caribbean, including the conflict between the U.S. Navy and the people of Vieques, Puerto Rico. He has received the Sigma Delta Chi Award by the Society of Professional Journalists, the National Headliner Award, as well as many other national, state and local journalism honors. Originally from Southern California, he now lives in Iquitos, Peru. Debbie Rivett Debbie Rivett is an independent producer, director, camera operator, presenter, educator, and musician. Having entered the industry in South Africa in 1997, she has extensive experience in film and television both in front of, and behind the camera. Her work tends to incorporate culture, development, art and creative mediums, human rights and social political issues. Her passion is working with indigenous people and their issues, utilizing the power of film to empower, educate and inform. Marcos Urquia Marcos Urquia is from the Shipibo community of Nuevo Panaillo. He received a degree in agronomy from the University of Tingo Maria, and then in 1995 took a permaculture course, with permaculture specialist, Ali Sharif. Fascinated by the topic, Marcos completed a degree at the Permaculture Insittute of the Amazon in Manaus, Brazil in 2003. Since then, Marcos has worked on several permaculture projects with indigenous communities in the Amazon. He is currently implementing a permaculture plan at our intercultural school in Puerto Firmeza, as well as developing plans for three other communities on the Ucayali River through our Community Based Solutions Program. AssociatesLauren Baker
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