Yolanda Kakabadse

Yolanda Kakabadse is an Ecuadorian conservationist. Since January 2010, she has been president of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). She is also a trustee of the Ford Foundation and an Earth Charter International Commission member. After her studies in educational psychology at the University of Quito, Yolanda became involved in environmental issues. She was a founder of the Fundación Natura in Quito and was its executive director from 1979 to 1990. At the Rio Earth Summit, she acted as NGO liaison. In 1993, she was a founder of the Fundación Futuro Latinoamericano and served until 2006 as the executive president of this NGO. Yolanda later served as Minister of Environment in the government of Ecuador, and was president of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.