Claudio Benedito Valladares-Padua

Claudio Valladares-Padua has bachelors? degree in Business Administration and Biology. He started his graduate studies at the University of Florida in August, 1984, completed requirements for a Master of Arts degree in January of 1987 and for a Ph.D. in 1992. Claudio is a co-founder and Vice-President of the Board of IPÊ ? Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas (Institute for Ecological Research) in Brazil. In Brazil, he is also a retired Professor at the University of Brasília and Rector of the University for Conservation and Sustainability ESCAS in Sao Paulo. Claudio is also a sustainability board member Natura Cosmetics Amazon Program, Fibria Paper and Pulp Corporation, the Coca Cola Institute, the Arapyaú Institute and Inseed the asset management company that concentrates its efforts and investments on start-up companies with a social and environmental innovation profile.In the US, he is an Associate Researcher at Columbia University, New York. In 2003 was portrayed by Time Magazine together with his wife Suzana as conservation heroes of the planet and in 2009 the couple was selected Social Entrepreneurs of the year by Folha de São Paulo and Schwab Foundation (World Economic Forum). Between 1998 and 2014 he received many important national and international awards for his work toward the protection of endangered species and their habitats, and for training young conservationists: the Henry Ford Award for Conservation, the Whitley Continuation Award of the Royal Geographic Society, the Society for Conservation Biology Achievement Award and the Distinguished Alumnus Award of the University of Florida. Claudio is also partner and director of Biofílica Environmental Investments SA. He also co-authored or edited four books and has more than 40 articles published in national and international journals.

É administrador de empresas e biólogo. Possui mestrado em estudos latino americanos e doutorado em ecologia pela Universidade da Flórida em Gainesville, EUA. É professor aposentado da Universidade de Brasília. Atualmente exerce a função de reitor da Escola Superior de Conservação e Sustentabilidade e Vice-Presidente do IPÊ ? Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas. Cláudio é também pesquisador associado sênior do Centro de Estudos Ambientais e de Conservação da Columbia University. Atualmente ocupa a posição sócio diretor da Biofílica SA uma empresa brasileira dedicada a transações no mercado de desmatamento evitado na Amazônia (REDD). É também membro do conselho do WWF Brasil e do Fundo Brasileiro para a Biodiversidade FUNBIO. Em 2003, junto com sua esposa Suzana Pádua foi considerado pela revista Time Herói do Planeta por sua atuação na conservação da biodiversidade. Entre 1997 e 2012 ganhou sete prêmios conservacionistas sendo quatro nacionais e três internacionais.