Nicola Beer

2016- current CEO, Fundación Jocotoco, Ecuador.

Raised >>$40m. Increased annual donations 14-fold; 24 months turn-around from 22% deficit to achieving surplus. Land owned grew by >170%, staff size by 150% to 124, and land co-managed increased 41-fold. After a period of internal change, built and supervised a strong team that created four new reserves in four years. First-in-class admin enabled increased cooperation with governments, private sector, academia, and national and international NGOs. Jocotoco contributed to debt-for-nature swap restructuring U$1.6 bn of Ecuadorian debt in exchange for 60,000 km² marine reserve. Started Jocotoco-US 501c3 and two endowment funds. Technical innovations such as the Joco-App improve reserve management. Team strongly improved profits on subsidiary for-profit tourism company (pre- and post-Covid). Created second subsidiary company, Jocoambiente, which was immediately profitable and grows rapidly. Reports to an international board of 13.

2007-2015      Associate Professor Evolutionary Biology and Animal Ecology, University of Freiburg, Germany. To work for conservation, declined the offer to become Chair in Evolutionary Ecology, University Munich, including generous funding. As PhD committee member chaired ~20 PhD defences in biology. Supervised >60 students (4 post-docs, 17 PhD students, 42 graduate students); group was entirely externally funded. Taught 6 hours per week.

2003-2007 Assistant Professor in Evolutionary Biology and Animal Ecology, University of Freiburg, Germany. Taught 4 hours per week, developed two research avenues, on plant-animal communication and on the conservation biology of threatened birds.

2002-2003 Independent researcher on threatened birds in Ecuador. Extensive fieldwork in three reserves. Work led to 400% increase in the population of the once critically endangered Pale-headed Brushfinch and 40% increase in the endangered El Oro Parakeet. Our work led to the down-listing of the Pale-headed Brushfinch to endangered, one of only 16 avoided bird extinctions globally at the time and the second cheapest one.