Cristina is Advisor to the Director General of the Alexander von Humboldt Institute -the National Institute for Biodiversity in Colombia-, from where she builds political-strategic relations, connecting the Institute’s scientific agenda and biodiversity data with stakeholders’ priorities for a better decision making on the use and valuation of biodiversity. Prior to that, she worked with the National Natural Parks Unit in Colombia, as well as with Canning House, the Global Canopy Programme and Panthera, from where she coordinated the settlement of new protected areas following national conservation priorities, tracked market-driven land transformations affecting key biodiversity areas, managed data and content to trace the ‘forest behaviour’ of tropical countries, and advised meetings and forums aiming to bring together key representatives to discuss the challenges of ecological boundaries that arise from a relentless growth, international trade and urbanization processes. She holds a BA (Hons.) in Anthropology from the Universidad de los Andes in Colombia, and a MSc in Conservation and Rural Development from the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, UK. She is currently a Project Fellow for the BiodiverCities Initiative with the World Economic Forum.