Alberto Rivera Gutiérrez
Senior Associate
Guatemala City, Guatemala
Languages: Spanish, English, Portuguese
“In the face of the climate crisis, we need audacious leadership in governments, businesses, and in our communities to ensure a sustainable future for humanity. ”
Alberto is the founder and Director of the Atitlán Nature Reserve, a social enterprise in the Guatemalan Highlands promoting environmental awareness, inclusive natural resource management, and communication of science to support the involvement of stakeholders in watershed management, in addition to providing alternative sources of livelihood for surrounding Mayan communities. He has contributed to international and local government and civil organizations, including the GEF Small Grants Program and the Atitlán Lake Authority, advising in areas of sustainable development, community participation and involvement in local organizations. An economic anthropologist with a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, Alberto’s research has included the domestic economies of Andean peasants and pastoral nomads in Colombia, agriculturalist and small-scale entrepreneurs in Guatemala, as well as issues of social and institutional sustainability. Earlier in his career, he taught at universities in the USA, Colombia and Guatemala.