Dr. Mauricio de la Maza-Benignos 

Director Général of Pronatura Noreste, México; Former Director, World Wide Fund for Nature; Conservationist; Member of Mexico’s National System of Researchers (SNII). He served as CEO of Pronatura Noreste, a conservation NGO, from 2011 to 2021 and earlier as Director of the binational (U.S. and Mexico) Chihuahuan Desert Program for the WWF for six years. In 2020, he received the Conservation Award from the Arizona Game and Fish, for his work protecting wetlands and wildlife in the transboundary region between the Mexico and the United States. In 2021 the government of Costa Rica awarded him the Ray Tico International Award for his work in favor of nature and society.