CSF is proud to have trained nearly 3000 professionals around the world through our capacity-building programs. Our alumni are academics, government officials, biologists, lawyers, park rangers, NGO program officers, and others - all working to find solutions to environmental problems that work for people and nature. The economic tools CSF offers are often only one piece of the puzzle for these dedicated conservationists.

Several of our alumni have recently been accepted to prestigious programs and top universities. We would like to take this opportunity to recognize their achievements, and wish them the best of luck in their next step as growing leaders.

Mst Karimon Nesha, 2015 international course graduate from Bangladesh, has just begun her Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship in TU Dresden, Germany where she is conducting an economic evaluation of carbon sequestration. Prior to attending the 2015 course, Karimon had never been outside of her home country. In 2018, she will resume her MSc at the University of Twente, where she has been awarded the ITC Excellence Scholarship. She started her MSc in September 2016 and then, in March 2017, took a year off to join the Humboldt Fellowship. 

Karimon Nesha at the 2015 Economic Tools for Conservation course. Photo: Niki Gribi

“Attending CSF training was a great source of inspiration for me. The connections and network I made there opened new horizons for me. Most importantly, attending the CSF training has taken my academic achievements to new heights. I used the knowledge I gained on economic tools for conservation at CSF to develop the research project for the Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship. I expect to share the findings from the study in early 2018.”  

Jaclyn Eng, a wildlife veterinarian from Singapore who worked with Orangutans in Indonesia before attending the 2016 international course, has been accepted to Columbia University in New York. Jaclyn will be working towards a Masters in Public Administration with a specialization in Environmental Policy and Management.

CSF Training Program Coordinator, Niki Gribi with Jaclyn Eng at the 2016 Economic Tools for Conservation course. Photo: Xinyi Zhu

Liliana Navarrete is a lawyer from Lima, Peru who has worked with local communities and mining companies to resolve social and environmental conflicts that arise from changes in land use and natural resource extraction. Since attending the 2016 international Course, she has been accepted to UC Berkeley School of Law in order to pursue a Masters (LLM) in Environmental Law.

Liliana Navarrete at the 2016 Economic Tools for Conservation course. Photo: Niki Gribi

"Participating in the 2016 CSF training course was one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had, not only becasue of the excellent program and professors, but also for the amazing people I met there. That experience at UC Berkeley made me decide it was time to go for more and made a significant contribution to my decision to pursue an LLM. I am very grateful to CSF for the opportunity they gave me, and of course for all the new international friends I now have."

Elisa López Garcia is a Spanish oceanographer now working in Mexico to find market solutions to conservation challenges with Fondo Mexicano para la Consevación de la Naturaleza (FMCN). Elisa attended the 2016 international course, and we have worked together extensively over the past year via our partnership with the Mesoamerican Reef Leadership Program. Elisa has been accepted to the 2017 Kinship Fellowship Program on Market Tools for Conservation in Washington State this summer.

Elisa López Garcia with CSF's Program Coordinator and Interim Director for Brazil, Camila Jericó-Daminello at the 2015 Economic Tools for Conservation course. Photo: Niki Gribi 

“CSF has helped me understand that the answers to many of today´s environmental challenges lie in the choices we make, which can be understood in terms of costs and benefits. CSF’s intense 2-week course didn´t make me an economist, but a more conscious environmentalist who recognizes that economics can be both a driver and solution to environmental challenges. This new perspective has made me eager to keep learning and keep pursuing new challenges, like the Kinship Fellowship.”  

Congratulations to all of you! We look forward to hearing more form you as you embark on these next steps, and how further study will change your outlook on the complex issues we are all striving to understand and improve.

If you are a CSF Alumni and would like to share news from your country, organization, or personal life, please contact Niki Gribi to tell your story. Cheers!