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.
Prof. Dr.
Charlotte Streck
Climate Policy Expert
Prof. Dr. Charlotte Streck is co-founder of the climate consultancy Climate Focus and a Professor honoris causa at the University of Potsdam. She serves as a climate change advisor to numerous governments, private companies, foundations, and not-for-profit organizations, sits on multiple advisory panels and is actively involved in shaping the debate on the role of carbon and climate finance in meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement. Previously Senior Legal Counsel with the World Bank, she is a proliferate writer and an associate editor of the Climate Policy journal.
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.
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.
Germany
The brains of our operation, meticulously designing and orchestrating each endeavor.
Camille Stouff
Project Development Manager
Camille has a background in both ecology and forestry engineering. With twelve years of international experience in development projects, she has worked in various contexts with a diversity of stakeholders. Since 2020, she has specialized in the design and carbon certification of forestry, agroforestry and restoration projects. At KAYA she is responsible for the development and certification of the projects, combining what is dear to her heart: collaborative work amongst a diverse international team and respect for people and nature. She spends most of her free time outside, enjoying the beautiful landscapes of the Mediterranean region and friends.
Chaitanya Sure
Chief Executive Officer & Head of Climate
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 the executive leader and is heading 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.
Matthias Reichel
Head of Finance & Legal
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.
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.
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
Head of People & Culture
A diploma in economics and several years of freelance project management assistance later, today Sandra looks back at eight 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.
Tania Paschen
Communication & Media Manager
Tania is a communications and advocacy specialist with a passion for conservation and working with communities. Bringing 20 years of global experience, including many years based in southern and East Africa, she leads on all communications and media and sharing the KAYA story with the world. She lives on a boat in Berlin with her two cats but tries to get out of the city into nature as often as possible between writing environmental education children’s books and learning chess.
Dr. Wirong Chanthorn
GHG Accounting
Specialist
As a community and ecosystem scientist from Thailand, Wirong has over two decades of research in tropical forests. He brings to KAYA extensive knowledge and fieldwork experience as well as proficiency in data science and modeling which produces high-quality greenhouse gas accounting. Wirong is a nature explorer, finding joy in hiking and bird watching, plus cooking spicy Thai cuisine and spending family time with his two daughters.
Angola
The heartbeat of our operation, dedicated to building our shared dream, step by step.
Erez Rosenhek
Head of 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.
Oscar Sousa
Cultural and Public Relations Manager
Oscar Sousa transitioned from the Angolan Air Forces to a distinguished career as chief consultant and advisor to a leading American diamond company in Angola, where he directed the company’s strategic initiatives for a decade. His expertise across the Angolan public sector will help KAYA’s outreach and engagement across sectors. In his spare time Oscar enjoys working on his farm, where he raises chickens and grows excellent coffee, as well as travelling to remote locations.
Dr. Tamar Ron
Ecology Consultant
Tamar is an independent international biodiversity conservation and stakeholder engagement advisor to governments, UN agencies, and conservation organizations. She has over 40 years of varied experience in this field, including over 20 years as a consultant to the Government of Angola. She works as a part-time consultant with KAYA. She is the author of hundreds of technical, scientific and popular publications, articles, reports and stories. A good story and a good laugh will always make her day.
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