In 1989 Adam graduated from Northeastern University and then studied ethno-ecology in Thailand thru San Francisco State University. After watching the failure of tribal relief projects led by the Thai and German governments he started Cultural Intrigue, a business buying tribal handicrafts as a way to give local peoples more financial freedom while honoring their cultural identity.

Over 20 years the business scaled to 25 employees, moved digital and sold a diversity of ethnic hand-made goods from all over South East Asia. Offerings including home spun textiles, ceramics, wood carvings and hand-blown glass. With the rise of giant internet retailers and the resulting reduced margins of ecommerce the business closed in 2017.

During the same period, Adam led numerous environmental projects in Vermont. As chairman of the Marlboro Vermont Conservation commission for 10 years, he directed wildlife migration studies in the 30,000-acre town. That work led to one of the most comprehensive municipal-level ecological zoning ordinances in the history of Vermont. He then founded Green Mountain Conservancy which took on a diversity of environmental projects, including the extension of migration studies throughout Windham County and the Green Mountain National Forest of Vermont, an area of over 800,000 acres. Detailed movements of coyotes, fox, bob cat, fisher, porcupine and other mammals were studied between the Connecticut River Valley and the Green Mountains of Vermont. These studies brought about a deep understanding of bio- corridors and migration in the area and received great reviews from the Nature Conservancy and other conservation organizations.

An avid navigator, backpacker, kayaker and back country skier, Adam has been leading deep wilderness adventures around the world for over 30 years. His extensive expeditions in all kinds of large wild landscapes along with his knowledge of migration and tracking have led to an ability to pinpoint areas of high conservation value in the larger ecological matrix. Adam is deeply committed to re-establishing ecological connectivity between the Andes and the Amazon which is essential to maintaining the great diversity of the region. He currently lives with his wife and son in Cuenca, Ecuador where he has spent the last three years.

Gabriela Auquilla graduated from the University of Azuay in 2011 in the Tourism Management and Development career, and in 2019 she received her Master’s Degree in Contemporary Anthropology at the University of Cuenca. Gabriela lived for a year abroad where she learned English and has worked for more than eight years as a Spanish teacher. She worked in coordination of cultural events such as Inti Raymi Ingapirca and Festival Titiricuenca. She has conducted research on the “Pinzhi Mikuna” in the community of Saraguro and research in the La Feria Libre market in the city of Cuenca.

Tsunki Marcelo is a member of the Shuar nation who grew up in a roadless rainforest community north of Macas before route 45 was built. He describes the road construction as being a heartbreak for his people. Shortly after the road came in, so did the missionaries. Tsunki was taken to a new mission, taught Spanish and was renamed Marcelo. At the mission he excelled to such a degree that he was sent to the Orientalista Saleciano College in Cuenca where he became a priest. After his education as a priest he decided to join the Ecuadorian army where he was in an elite brigade in the war with Peru (1995). After the war, Tsunki decided to become a wilderness guide and for 20 years guided groups from around the world on trips in the Amazon and the Andes. In 2017/18 he worked as a tourism analyst at the Ministry of Tourism in Huamboya. With so many years and experiences in the Macas area, Tsunki has a wealth of ecological knowledge, family and friends that have made him a great person to help spearhead our Palora Pastaza Biocorridor and Mangozisa hut to hut system projects.

Pioneering promoter in the cultivation of bamboo and amazonian fruit trees. Knowledgeable about the socio-economic and environmental problems that the Shuar communities of Morona Santiago are going through as a consequence of the opening of a highway in the rainforest, which causes the extraction of their natural resources; entry of mining companies, water pollution, poverty, migration and acculturation of its people. Our innovative proposal is to Renaturalized these areas, with the planting of fruit trees, medicinal plants and bamboo. Within 3-5 years of reforestation, we have an edible forest with improved diets for local people. Renaturalized areas attract wildlife, improve landscaping and provide wood indefinitely.

Studies in Biological and Environmental Sciences. Entrepreneur with Positive Social and Environmental Impacts. Community Leader. I am from the Amazon and I grew up observing the great social and environmental impacts on my earth. I studied and received academic training in biology and the environment, and I am the founder of companies with social and environmental impact. My contribution to the project is multidisciplinary: Create an environmental business model with a social impact and economy for the common good to sustain the project in the long term. The Amazonian rainforests and the indigenous brothers of the Shuar People need kind, innovative, inclusive, visionary, spiritual and profitable solutions.