Rafael Calderon
Latin America Regional Director
Rare Conservation

Rafael is responsible for partner organizations, strategic partner relations, and has final program management accountability. Originally from Honduras, Rafael came to Rare from The Nature Conservancy, where he most recently served as Director of the Gulf of Mexico Initiative. In that role, Rafael worked to identify conservation strategies for marine and coastal ecosystems applicable to multiple sites and with the potential for large-scale regional impact. Rafael holds a Masters Degree in Natural Resources Management with an emphasis in Fisheries and Coastal Planning from the California State University, Humboldt. He has over 19 years experience across countries of Latin America, the US and the Western Pacific, specializing in Site Conservation Planning, protected areas management, and biodiversity priority setting.