We are a lean group of devoted conservation experts. Our aim is to achieve the greatest results by putting financial and logistical resources where they are needed most: on the ground.

Byron Swift, President
Byron has worked with local partners throughout Latin America for over two decades to improve land and resource conservation and environmental policy. An environmental lawyer, Byron is an expert in private lands conservation and has published widely on biodiversity, industrial pollution and climate change. He has directed the energy program at the Environmental Law Institute (1994-2004) and the US office of IUCN – World Conservation Union (1998-2004), and has served as a private foundation officer.

Stephanie Burk, Office Manager
Stephanie comes to NCI with over 20 years of office management and accounting experience. Stephanie has kept very active over the years as a volunteer for many non-profit organizations and charities across the country. Her personal and professional experience have inspired a life-long commitment to environmental conservation and sustainable results, founded on local action.

Sara Dozier, Secretary and Treasurer
Sara has served as NCI’s Secretary and Treasurer since its founding in 1997.  Since a young age, Sara has been a volunteer for many other non-profit organizations in the San Diego area. Her expertise with land tenure comes from twenty years helping to grow the Del Mar Partnership into one of California’s premier real estate companies.  Her mother instilled a strong passion for community service and environmental preservation that she takes pride in to this day.  Sara enjoys hiking and spending time with her family, and she is always willing to help the community.

John Evey, Executive Vice-President
John has held leadership positions with significant non-profit organizations for 35 years, including the J. Craig Venter Institute, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of the Pacific, Oregon State University, and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He recently accepted responsibility for leading the strategic and resource development programs of NCI. The conservation of important natural habitats has long been one of John’s interests. He helped catalyze the creation of the Southern Oregon Land Conservancy, the oldest local land trust in that state.

 
Roger McDonough, Communications Coordinator
Roger was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, and cultivated a passion for environmental conservation wandering the backroads and wilderness of the American West. A practiced freelance print and radio journalist, he has lived in several regions where NCI works. In 2009, Roger completed a dual master’s degree in policy and development at Georgetown University, Washington DC, and the Universidad Nacional de San Martín, Argentina. His thesis examined the potential of ethno-ecotourism initiatives as a tool for sustainable development in the Bolivian Amazon basin.

Renzo Paladines, Director of NCI Ecuador
Renzo has broad experience in the conservation field. He served as Coordinator of the United Nations Geo-Loja report, and was President of the Regional Council of the Catamayo-Chira river basin in 2003. In recognition of his efforts, Renzo received the Podocarpus Award from Loja’s Provincial Council for his efforts in conservation and environmental management. He holds a masters degree in Zootechnics from the People’s Friendship University, Moscow.

Noam Shany, Leader-NE Amazon Peru program
Noam is a noted ornithologist and conservationist, and co-author of the book Birds of Peru. He is Nature and Culture International’s liaison to the Program for the Conservation and Sustainable Management of the Regional Biodiversity of Loreto (PROCREL), and has helped implement a variety of important conservation initiatives in the region.

Silvia Usuriaga, Program Coordinator
Silvia served as the staff director for NCI’s conservation programs in the Peruvian Amazon for the last three years, during which time over 4 million acres were placed in protected status in three national reserves. She worked closely with Peruvian local, state and national governments as well as over 40 indigenous and farming communities, donors, and the private sector to develop and manage an integrated program to protect the Amazon rainforest. Born in Iquitos, a major city on the upper Amazon, Silvia is a former international business manager whose personal experience led her to devote her talents to the conservation of ecosystems and ancestral cultures.