TOGETHER WE THRIVE
kaya's people
We are a team of nature-loving people that bring together a diverse range of skills and decades of experience.
With unwavering commitment, we strive to make a lasting impact, empowering communities and restoring harmony between people and the planet.
Together, we are dedicated to creating a sustainable future for generations to come.
Advisors
Deeply experienced advisors from the environmental and impact-driven sectors help us realize positive impacts for the communities we serve.
Dr. Mark Ritchie
Grasslands and Soil Scientist
Mark is an entrepreneur and Professor of Biology at Syracuse University in New York, USA, where he teaches environmental science. He has studied the effects of grazing animals on rangelands in North America and Africa over the past 30 years. He is the author of a book, “Scale, Heterogeneity, and the Structure and Diversity of Ecological Communities” (Princeton University Press), and author or co-author of over 90 scientific journal publications. His expertise is on soils, plants, and grazing in grassland and savanna ecosystems. In addition, he has consulted with several large private ranches in the United States on livestock grazing management and wildlife conservation.
Dr. Elias Ayrey
Carbon Forestry Expert
Dr. Elias Ayrey is a forest remote sensing scientist and currently head of science at a carbon rating agency called Renoster. He holds a Master’s and PhD in forest resources from the University of Maine, and he’s been doing applied forest mensuration and remote sensing work for the past ten years. For the past four years Dr. Ayrey has worked in the carbon offset industry, first as head scientist at a large carbon broker called Pachama, and then at Renoster. In his current role, he leads a team that both develops algorithms for quantifying forest characteristics, and evaluates carbon offset projects to quantify their effectiveness. To date, Dr. Ayrey has evaluated more than 140 nature-based carbon projects. In his spare time he makes educational and thought provoking youtube videos about the carbon industry.
Germany
The brains of our operation, meticulously designing and orchestrating each endeavor.
Chaitanya Sure
Interim CEO & Chief Climate Officer
An engineer and a scientist by education, Chaitanya is a terrestrial ecosystem specialist who has been part of many conservation and restoration initiatives globally. Besides building the organisation as the Co-founder, he is leading the climate department at KAYA which has the mandate to develop land use projects and solutions. Chaitanya’s biggest passion is food, both cooking and eating!
Giuseppe Dal Bosco
Forestry Specialist
A forestry manager with more than 20 years of experience in over 10 countries worldwide specializing in plantations and natural forest management.
At KAYA, Giuseppe oversees planning, assessing, and monitoring forest management operations and training of technical teams and coordination with local partners. He refers to himself as a traditional family man who loves nature, history, outdoor life and 4×4 driving.
Johan Karlsson
Earth Observation Specialist
A biologist and a remote sensing expert Johan has a keen eye for Earth Observation and satellite imagery. At KAYA, he helps to leverage Earth Observation technologies to gain valuable insights and solve complex problems. In his free time, Johan enjoys spending quality time with his family.
Matthias Reichel
Head of Finance
Matthias is an economist with many years of experience in finance and with a focus on impact start ups. At KAYA he will make sure that all financial aspects of our business are covered and that we allocate our financial resources to maximum impact.
As a grandfather, the world being “enkeltauglich”, i.e., suitable for grandchildren, is what matters to him the most.
Samuel Chevallier
Climate Storyteller
Sam has been producing conservation films for the last 7 years. As Co-Founder of Rewild Africa, he produced over 50 films for clients like NASA, WWF and the BBC. At KAYA, Sam leads our visual content creation and storytelling. He is also a trained Biomimicry Practitioner and Game Ranger for Kruger National Park, and on his free time you can find him hiking all around South Africa’s national parks.
Sandra Wulff
People & Culture Manager
A diploma in economics and several years of freelance project management assistance later, today Sandra looks back at 8 stimulating years as a People & Culture Generalist. In her role as People & Culture Manager at KAYA, she grows and nurtures all people-related topics making sure to cater to our many organisational and administrative Backoffice needs. When she isn’t pouring her heart into her job or learning about permaculture and forest gardening, Sandra can be spotted on the road in her van Ama, along with her dog Sookie.
Nicole Viduka
Communication & Media Manager
A sustainability and strategic communications professional, Nicole launched an award-winning social sustainability program for Concert Properties, a Canadian national real estate developer. She has led sustainable development projects and communications campaigns for remote and vulnerable communities in Central America and Europe. Now, Nicole leads KAYA’s Communications & Media Relations. She loves travelling off the beaten track, where you can find her hiking mountains and sea kayaking.
Angola
The heartbeat of our operation, dedicated to building our shared dream, step by step.
Erez Rosenhek
Head of Business Development & Technology
Entrepreneur, Social activist & Technology Enthusiastic. Majored in Economic and Data Technology by the IDC Herzliya. Developing various innovative online platforms in the fields of Fin-Tech and Travelling industry, Erez has consulted Fortune 500 companies conducting market analysis, creating strategies and building support operations. Served as a commander in the Submarines special unit, conducting a variety of projects & building new products and technologies. Erez will work on building the special technologies for this operation.
Oscar Amaya
Site Operations Manager
Oscar is formally trained as a Conservation Biologist, specializing in forest management, successional ecology, agroforestry, and pollinators. At KAYA Angola, he wears the principal hat of Field Operations Manager. When not hard at work in the field, you can find Oscar pursuing his passions for native stingless bee keeping, gardening and scuba diving.
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