Pathanchali Premachandra
Nature‑based Solutions Learning Manager, Global
Arlington, VA
Pathanchali Premachandra Nature‑based Solutions (NbS) Learning Manager © TNC
Areas of Expertise
Natural Climate Solutions, Learning Initiatives
Biography
Pathanchali Premachandra is the Nature‑based Solutions (NbS) Learning Manager at The Nature Conservancy, where she leads global learning initiatives that strengthen the effectiveness and scalability of Natural Climate Solutions (NCS). She manages the NCS Learning Network, facilitating the exchange of climate and conservation knowledge among hundreds of scientists and practitioners across TNC.
Her current work centers on capacity building and translating complex climate knowledge into accessible, practical learning experiences that support conservation impact worldwide. This includes designing and delivering training curricula, facilitating global webinars and peer learning exchanges and coordinating communities of practice that connect staff, scientists and practitioners across regions. She also works with TNC’s Global Peatlands lead to help build and advance the organization’s global peatlands program, integrating learning to support long‑term conservation impact.
Pathanchali brings more than a decade of experience in climate policy, conservation and international development, with roles spanning network coordination, large‑scale grant and project management and global policy engagement. Prior to her current role, she worked with The Nature Conservancy’s International Climate Policy and Global NCS Science teams, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Washington, DC, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Volunteers in Sri Lanka.
She holds a Master of Science in environmental conservation from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in international development from the University of London and is trained in leadership development and monitoring and evaluation. Having grown up in Sri Lanka, she speaks Tamil, English and Sinhala.
Read More
Natural Climate Solutions
Natural climate solutions offer immediate and cost-effective ways to tackle the climate crisis—while also supporting healthy, thriving communities and ecosystems.
Climate-Smart Forestry
Around the world, communities depend on forests. Climate-smart forestry is a set of practices that helps forests stay healthy and thriving in a changing climate.
The Power of Peatlands for People and Nature
Protecting and rewetting peatlands are powerful actions in the fight against climate change, helping to slow its progression while also shielding communities from its worst impacts.