Mr Javier Mateo-Vega serves as Global Director of Partnerships & Communications at the Alliance of
Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), and holds a joint
appointment as Senior Director of Partnerships at CGIAR.
Prior, Javier served as Director of the Environmental Leadership & Training Initiative (ELTI) of the Yale
School of Environment, holding a joint appointment at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
(STRI; Panama). He also held positions at The Nature Conservancy (Country Manager) and the
Organization for Tropical Studies (Coordinator, Environmental Science and Policy), both in Costa Rica.
Javier received his PhD (Biology) from McGill University. His research focused on understanding how
Indigenous peoples can participate fully and effectively at the local level in policy processes of global
concern.
Javier has 25 years of experience providing technical and managerial leadership in natural resource
management, biodiversity conservation, sustainable agriculture, capacity development, and
ecological research, primarily in developing countries.