MARÍA JOSÉ ITURRALDE

Co-founder and CEO

María José is an educator and entrepreneur who is passionate about the environment. She holds a Master's degree in Education and a certification in Creative Leadership.  After working in educational institutions leading changes towards more efficient learning methodologies for many years, she has decided to dedicate her time to promote the conservation and regeneration of destroyed ecosystems. Her dream has always been to transform the way in which humans can use their incredible imagination and talent to generate lifestyles that are in harmony with nature. She is in charge of ensuring the mission and vision of Humans for Abundance and designing a team culture that allows the organization to achieve its goals. Her strengths are creativity, the courage to imagine a world full of possibilities, and the ability to inspire people to achieve them.

ESTEBAN MATHEUS

Co-founder and Co-director

Esteban has an ongoing interest in the intersections of art, architecture, sustainable design and urbanism. He has worked on a range of projects in architecture and urbanism and manages large scale architecture and design projects. He is also building on research in sustainable urban energy systems that he conducted at the University of British Columbia, which he has presented to various municipalities, educational institutions and design firms. Born and raised in Ecuador, Esteban is especially interested in how his work in design can transform cities into lower-carbon urban environments, as well as how to promote greater global sustainability via virtual design.

MALCOLM GORE

Co-founder and Content Manager

Malcolm fluctuates between his roles as an educator, writer, and dedicated gardener. He has worked for numerous conservation and research organizations including the Trust for Governors Island, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Conservation International, and American University. A world traveler, he has been able to visit and live in diverse ecosystems of all kinds; however, his experiences as a teacher, student and writer brought him to Humans for Abundance. Teaching at a high school in Ecuador from 2014 to 2016, his later graduate studies in Natural Resources and Leadership at the University of Vermont, and his passion for stories make Malcolm our perfect Storyteller. 

SELENE ESCOBAR

Biologist and Verifier

Selene is a biologist who is passionate about studying plant-insect interactions in tropical agroecosystems. She has dedicated her time to the study of how plants and insects provide services, such as pollination, pest control and seed dispersal, or ecosystem dis-services, such as herbivory. Her research seeks to provide agricultural producers with recommendations for managing crops and the surrounding landscapes in order to increase natural pest control through Classic Biological Control and Biological Conservation Control. Selene has a Ph.D. in Agroecology with the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen in Germany and collaborates with Humans for Abundance doing scientific verification and monitoring of the eco-services provided by the Humans for Abundance restorers.

OMAR TELLO

Expert advisor on biological restoration

Omar Tello, an accountant by profession, but lover and connoisseur of nature, has dedicated his life to the biological regeneration of the native ecosystem of the Amazon in Ecuador. 40 years ago, he bought a completely cleared and eroded parcel of land. Over the years, ha has turned it into a forest again, creating a habitat to which thousands of species of insects, birds, reptiles, mammals and amphibians have returned. Omar is now the director of Las Orquídeas Botanical Garden, and is dedicated to spreading his knowledge of how an ecosystem recovers with the help of human beings. He was the first contributor to Humans for Abundance and is now an advisor to other restorers who work with us and who are transforming their farms back into forests, as well.

PAULA ITURRALDE

Biologist and Author

Paula is an Ecuadorean biologist, an ecologist, and a bat lover. She completed her Bachelor's degree in Biology at the Universidad Católica del Ecuador, and she studied and M.Sc. in Ecology at Université François Rabelais de Tours in France. During her career, she has been actively involved in projects to conserve Ecuador’s stunning biodiversity, including the design of an educational notebook for children with the aim of raising the commitment of people towards the protection of bats. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Universidad de Costa Rica at Chaverri’s Lab, where she is learning about bat bioacoustics in collaboration with the Acoustic and Functional Ecology Research Group from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Germany.