Margarita Mora is passionate about empowering local groups in their efforts to manage their territories. She has dedicated the past 17 years to devising and implementing strategies for integrating conservation into a positive vision of the future for these communities. Margarita, as the Managing Director of the Conservation Stewards Program of Conservation International (CI), a pioneer in the conservation agreements model, has been involved in conservation agreement initiatives in 19 countries around the world. She is applying the lessons and experiences from this work to shape Nia Tero’s approach to building partnerships with Indigenous peoples and local communities worldwide. Margarita believes that if ecosystems that are vital for humanity’s well-being are to thrive, the people who have sustained these places and are most knowledgeable about them must also thrive. She is a Conservation Fellow at the Mulago Foundation, a Director’s Fellow at the MIT Media Lab, and a Heinrich Böll Stiftung alumna.