Rane Cortez
Senior Advisor for Equitable Carbon Markets
Minneapolis, MN
Rane Cortez Global Director of Natural Climate Solutions © TNC
Areas of Expertise
Indigenous peoples and local communities, climate change, REDD+, integrated landscapes
Biography
Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Rane Cortez is TNC's Senior Advisor for Equitable Carbon Markets. Previously, she served as Global Director of Natural Climate Solutions, providing strategic leadership and coordination of field execution teams for all aspects of the TNC’s Natural Climate Solutions global program.
Prior to that role, Rane was the Conservation Director of the Global Program on Conservation in Partnership with Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities team, where she supported teams around the world to strategically plan and effectively execute conservation activities in partnership with IPLCs. Prior to joining the Global IPLC Team, Rane was the Chief of Party of the Mexico REDD+ Program, a six-year, multi-organization initiative to support the Mexican Government and local communities to put in place policy and practice necessary to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+).
Rane started at TNC in 2007, leading our international policy efforts on forests and climate, including defining and advocating for TNC’s policy positions on the principle elements of REDD+, creating a large-scale training program, and facilitating a successful coalition of major international NGOs to do joint advocacy on international REDD+ policy. After that, Rane spent two years in Brazil, supporting efforts to implement jurisdictional approaches to REDD+ in the Amazon.
Before TNC, Rane was a Peace Corps Volunteer working with communities in the Western Highlands of Guatemala to protect and restore their forests. Rane has a Master’s Degree in Environmental Policy from the University of Minnesota and a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Science from Northwestern University. She is fluent in English and Spanish and speaks Portuguese.