A wildlife biologist, she has been the Executive Director of the MAR Fund since 2005. María José was advisor to the National Council for Protected Areas of Guatemala, developing wildlife regulations and the first Red Lists for vertebrates. She was head of a Guatemalan research NGO and coordinated a vertebrate ecology project in Tikal National Park with WCS. From 1996-2004, she directed the first Guatemalan environmental fund. She participated in the design and establishment of the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Environmental Funds (RedLAC), and is currently serving for a third time on its Executive Committee. She chaired the GEF Small Grants Program national committee in Guatemala and sits on the board of the Coral Reef Alliance.
María José has been the executive director of the Mesoamerican Reef Fund –MAR Fund– since 2005. MAR Fund is a regional environmental fund that seeks, secures and facilitates regional funding, fosters partnerships and drives capacity building for the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of marine and coastal ecosystems in the Mesoamerican Reef region, shared by
Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras. As ED, she has helped to raise and manage nearly USD 60 Million in programmatic funds and a USD 32 Million endowment fund.
