Our Leadership

Anne Marie Burgoyne (Managing Director, Philanthropy, Emerson Collective and Interim President, Waverley Street Foundation) has led Emerson Collective’s philanthropy since 2013. 

Under her leadership Emerson has become a major funder that supports important work across an array of sectors, including education, immigration, and health, fostering community among important leaders and organizations across issues to achieve long-lasting impact. At Emerson, Anne Marie has developed a model, frictionless philanthropy, that helps all grantee partners grow their impact through full access to a suite of opportunities for capacity building, convening, communications and narrative storytelling, and leveraging technology. 

Prior to joining Emerson, Anne Marie served as portfolio director at the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, where she identified and funded early-stage, high-growth, high-impact nonprofits. She currently sits on the boards of directors of Hope Enterprise Corporation, Nia Tero, Teach for All, and Waverley Street Foundation, which focuses on climate and community, where she also currently serves as Interim President.

Brenda Toineeta Pipestem is a Cherokee woman rooted in the values of her Eastern Band of Cherokee community and the recognition of the inherent power of Native peoples to problem solve for themselves and their communities. Raised in the Wolftown Community on the Qualla Boundary in Cherokee, NC – the homeland of the Aniyvwiya (“the real people”)—Brenda has dedicated her life to nurturing her family and empowering tribal communities through law, policy, education, and support of Native artists.

Brenda is an attorney (Columbia University School of Law, J.D.; Duke University, B.A.) and has served as an Appellate Justice for Tribal Supreme Courts for over 20 years, further developing Tribal Justice systems that exercise inherent sovereign powers of Tribal Nations to protect people, lands, and resources. To fulfil her culturally inherent responsibilities of gadugi—working together to meet a community need—she has spent her adult life building relationships among communities, governments, and non-profit organizations to reach common goals. Now living in Oklahoma in the region of the Mvskoke, Osage, and Cherokee territories after working in Washington, DC, she continues to volunteer with national and regional serving non-profit organizations, including serving on the boards of the American Indian College Fund, the Native Arts and Culture Foundation, Crisis Text Line, and the Tulsa Community Foundation. Her board service includes the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) Board of Trustees (Chairperson for two years, with a focus on repatriation), the Booker T. Washington High School Foundation for Excellence (Tulsa, OK), and the Advisory Boards for the Columbia Law Public Interest/Public Service Fellows Program, the Oklahoma Center for the Humanities at the University of Tulsa. Brenda is married to Wilson Pipestem (Otoe-Missouria/Osage) and together they have been blessed to parent four wonderfully strong-minded humans and a beloved four-legged Beijre.

Cristina Goettsch Mittermeier, "Mitty", was born in Mexico City in 1966 and grew up in nearby Cuernavaca, in the sunny state of Morelos. She graduated from the ITESM University in Mexico with a degree in Biochemical Engineering in Marine Sciences.

She later attended the Fine Art Photography program at the Corcoran College for the Arts in Washington, D.C. In 2005, Cristina founded the prestigious International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP) to provide a platform for photographers working on environmental issues and coined the phrase "conservation photography."

In 2014 she co-founded SeaLegacy, a non-profit organization using strategic communications at the intersection of art, science, and conservation to protect and rewild the ocean for the benefit of biodiversity, humanity, and climate within our lifetimes.

Cristina's work has been published in hundreds of prominent magazines, including National Geographic, TIME, McLean's, The Men's Journal and O. In 2021, she was featured in Welcome to Earth on Disney+. Her photographs have been exhibited in galleries around the world, and she has been honored with many notable awards including the Smithsonian Conservation Photographer of the Year, the Humanity Content Creator Award from HIPA and the Imaging Award for Photographers Who Give Back.

She is a sought-after speaker, acknowledged by Real Leaders as one of the World's Best Keynote Speakers, including being voted People's Choice. She is also a committed impact investor and an influential voice in bridging financial returns while creating a positive social and environmental impact.

She has three adult children, John, Michael and Juliana, who are passionate about nature. She lives on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada.

Fawn Sharp most recently served as the 23rd President of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), the oldest, largest and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native tribal government organization in the country. She is the third woman to hold the position of NCAI President. Fawn also recently concluded her sixth term of elected office for the Quinault Indian Nation in Taholah, Washington, after serving five terms as President and one as Vice President. She additionally served two terms as President of the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians. Her past positions include managing attorney and lead counsel; and staff attorney for the Quinault Indian Nation, administrative law judge for the Washington State Department of Revenue—Tax Appeals Division, Quinault Tribal Court Associate Judge, and Counsel for Phillips, Krause & Brown.

Sharp is an inaugural member and co-chair to the World Economic Forum’s Indigenous Steering Committee for the Indigenous Knowledge and Leadership Network.

Sharp has held numerous other leadership positions, including an appointment by Washington Governor Gary Locke to serve as Trustee for Grays Harbor College, Governor of the Washington State Bar Association, Trustee of Washington State Bar Association—Indian Law Section, Vice President and Founding Member of the National Intertribal Tax Alliance, and Director/Secretary of the Quinault Nation Enterprises Board.

Having been mentored by visionary Native American leaders like President Joe DeLaCruz (Quinault), Billy Frank Jr. (Nisqually), and Chairwoman Ramona Bennett (Puyallup), Fawn has dedicated her life to fighting to protect the sovereignty, human rights, and cultural inheritances of all Tribal Nations. A human rights attorney by training, she left home to get her education, ultimately receiving degrees and advanced certificates from the University of Washington, Gonzaga University, the University of Nevada, and Oxford University. In 2018, she was recognized by the United Nations as one of the foremost experts on the human rights of Indigenous People globally. Born on the Quinault Reservation, she lives on beautiful Lake Quinault with her mother and her four children.

Joseph Williams has a Bachelor of Laws from the Victoria University of Wellington and a Masters of Laws with Honors from the University of British Columbia. He became a partner at Kensington Swan, Auckland, New Zealand in 1992 and went on to co-found Walters Williams & Co., Auckland, New Zealand in 1994. In 1999, Joseph became Chief Judge of the Māori Land Court and was appointed Deputy Chairperson of the Waitangi Tribunal shortly after in 2000.

He was made Chairperson of the Waitangi Tribunal in 2004. Justice Williams was appointed a judge of the High Court in September 2008, a judge of the Court of appeal in February 2018, and a judge of the Supreme Court in May 2019.

Jupta Itoewaki is an Indigenous rights activist and environmental advocate from Suriname. A proud member of the Wayana Indigenous Peoples, she has dedicated almost two decades to championing Indigenous leadership, environmental conservation, and sustainable development. Her mission is to amplify Indigenous voices and ensure their rightful role in protecting the planet.

Born and raised in Suriname, Jupta grew up in her village of Kawemhakan (Anapaike), deeply connected to her community’s struggles and aspirations. She studied social cultural education at the Academie voor Hoger Kunst- en Cultuuronderwijs (AHKCO) in Paramaribo for a year and is currently pursuing an MBA at Singapore Business School to strengthen her leadership and advocacy skills.

As CEO and Chairperson of the Mulokot Foundation, which she co-founded in 2018 with Paramount Chief of the Wayana Peoples, Ipomadi Pelenapin, Jupta works to empower the Wayana people and beyond, protect their lands, and preserve their cultural heritage. She also plays key roles in international organizations, including as a Board Member at Nia Tero, supporting Indigenous-led conservation efforts worldwide.

Jupta is also an influential speaker on global platforms, advocating for Indigenous rights and environmental justice. She has represented her people at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), the Hague Climate March, the International Conference for Population and Development (ICPD25) in Nairobi, as well as at TED. One of her most symbolic protest acts—painting a hand over her mouth—emphasizes her fight against the silencing of Indigenous voices. Her motto, “Nothing About Us, Without Us,” reflects her unwavering commitment to self-determination. Her dedication has earned her numerous accolades, including: Golden Gavel Award (2020) – Honoring her contributions to environmental protection.

Jupta continues to drive Indigenous advocacy, sustainable development, and environmental protection. Through her leadership, she is shaping a future where Indigenous communities are recognized as key stewards of their lands and the planet.

Kathy Baird is Sicangu Lakota, an enrolled citizen of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, and is also a descendant of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin.

She is the Chief Impact Officer for McDonald’s U.S. Prior Kathy served as Chief Communications Officer of The Washington Post. She was named a 2025 Sulzberger Fellow at Columbia School of Journalism and worked in Global Communications at Nike where she leveraged the power of sport to shape a healthier planet, active communities, and an equal playing field for all.

Before Nike, Kathy was the Managing Director and Head of Ogilvy’s Washington, DC office where she oversaw a cross-functional integrated business and profit center. Clients included The Washington Post, Smithsonian Institution, BP, Mozilla, Twitter, and Five Guys among others. While at Fleishman Hillard, she led the Integrated Marketing team, served as one of the agency’s leading digital voices during her tenure, and led some of the agency’s largest global accounts including Visa, Inc., the Abu Dhabi Government (Tourism), and others.

She served as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University for ten years in their Masters in Corporate Communications and Public Relations school where she taught Digital Communications, Integrated Marketing, and Leadership courses. In 2014, Kathy co-founded The Unified Scene Theater which brought classes and workshops to students and businesses across the U.S.  She is a recipient of the ColorComm Circle Award, recognizing women of color who are changing the face of the communications industry and a Washington Women in PR Nominee.

Kathy serves on the advisory board of American Indian College Fund, and served on the Advisory Board of IllumiNative. She is also a former board member of Rare, a global leader in international conservation.s

Dr. Michael M. Crow is an educator, knowledge enterprise architect, science and technology policy scholar and higher education leader. He became the sixteenth president of Arizona State University in July 2002 and has helmed ASU’s redesign as a “New American University, a 21st-century, technology-enhanced public research university that simultaneously demonstrates comprehensive excellence, inclusivity representative of the ethnic and socioeconomic diversity of the United States, and consequential societal impact.

Lauded as the ”#1 most innovative” school in the nation by U.S. News & World Report (2016-2021), ASU is a student-centric, technology-enabled knowledge enterprise focused on complex global challenges related to sustainability, economic competitiveness, social embeddedness, entrepreneurship and global engagement. Under Michael’s leadership, ASU has established twenty-five new transdisciplinary schools, including the School of Earth and Space Exploration, the School for the Future of Innovation in Society and the School of Human Evolution and Social Change, and launched trailblazing multidisciplinary initiatives including the Biodesign Institute, sixteen use-inspired research centers focused on biomedicine and health, sustainability and security; the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory and the nation’s first School of Sustainability, which advance research, education and business practices at the intersection of nature and the made environment. Michael’s model has achieved record-breaking levels of traditional, on-campus, online and international student enrollment, freshman quality and retention, and more than five-fold growth in research expenditures. ASU’s meteoric ascent in quality, growth and modernization has earned it separate rankings as one of the top 100 most prestigious universities in the world by Times Higher Education, and a top 100 position in Shanghai Jiao Tong’s 2018 Academic Ranking of World Universities.

Myrna Cunningham Kain (also known as Mirna) is a Miskita feminist and Indigenous rights activist from Nicaragua. She served as the Chairperson of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues until 2012, and she is the current president of the Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID). Myrna is the first Miskito doctor in Nicaragua. She worked as a general practitioner and then as a surgeon until 1979. After the Sandinista revolution, she worked in the Ministry of Public Health and later became the first woman governor of the Waspam autonomous region.

She helped negotiate several peace agreements after the conflict in Nicaragua, setting the stage for the Law of Autonomy of the Indigenous Peoples and Ethnic Communities from the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua in 1987. She also helped create the first autonomous regional government. She served as the Deputy of the Autonomous Region of the North Atlantic Coast in the National Assembly. Myrna was a member of the Board of Directors of the Global Fund for Women and advised the Alliance of Indigenous Women of Mexico and Central America, the Continental Network of Indigenous Women, and the International Indigenous Women's Forum. The human rights organization MADRE awarded her the Woman of Distinction Award in 2012.

Nainoa Thompson is the president of the Polynesian Voyaging Society and a master in the traditional Polynesian art of non-instrument navigation. Through his voyaging, he has opened a global, multigenerational dialogue on the importance of sustaining ocean resources and maritime heritage. Nainoa is the first person in 600 years to practice Polynesian wayfinding: long-distance open-ocean voyaging on a traditional double-hulled canoe without the aid of modern instruments.

Nainoa has dedicated his life to exploring the ocean, maintaining the health of the planet, and ensuring that the ancient marine heritage and culture of Polynesia remain vibrant into the future.

Nemonte Nenquimo is an Indigenous Waorani woman committed to defending her ancestral territory, culture, and way of life in the Amazon rainforest. Raised in the traditional community of Nemonpare in the Pastaza region of the Ecuadorian Amazon, Nemonte co-founded the Indigenous-led nonprofit organization Ceibo Alliance in 2015 to protect Indigenous lands and livelihoods from resource extraction alongside its sister organization, Amazon Frontlines.

In 2018, she was elected the first female president of CONCONAWEP, the Waorani organization of Pastaza province. Nemonte led her people in an historic legal victory against the Ecuadorian government, which protected half-a-million acres of primary rainforest in the Amazon and set a precedent for Indigenous rights across the region. Today, Nemonte is fighting for the survival of her people amid the dual threats of COVID-19 and the ongoing ecological crisis in the Amazon. She is winner of the 2020 Goldman Environmental Prize for South America and was named to the BBC’s 100 Women of 2020 and TIME 100 list of the most influential people in the world.

For nearly 40 years, Peter Seligmann has been an influential and inspiring voice in conservation. His efforts have been shaped by a belief that societies will not thrive without a shared and integrated commitment to equity, environmental health and economic vitality. He has worked closely with governments, multi-lateral and bi-lateral organizations, corporations, foundations, and civil society partners across multiple continents.

In 1987, Peter founded Conservation International (CI), serving as CEO and Chairman through 2017. Continuing as Chairman of CI, in 2017, Peter founded Nia Tero, an organization dedicated to supporting Indigenous Peoples’ Guardianship of their territories, partnering with over 300 Indigenous Peoples to support the protection of over 300 million acres of their territorial waters and lands. In January 2025, Peter stepped down as CEO and continues to serve on Nia Tero’s Board of Directors. In June 2025 Peter stepped down as Chairman of CI.

Peter is currently the Chairman of Silvania, a natural capital fund committed to establishing Nature as an investable asset class. He was appointed Distinguished Professor of Practice at Arizona State University in March 2025, is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and serves on the boards of the Mulago Foundation, the New School’s Zolberg Institute on Migration and Mobility, and First Eagle Investment Holdings. He is on the Advisory Boards of BDT&MSD Partners and GITI corporation, a Singaporean corporation.

Peter and his wife, Lee Rhodes (the founder of Glassybaby), split their time between Montana and Seattle, and have between them six children and a growing number of grandchildren.

Roger Sant is the co-founder and Chair Emeritus of The AES Corporation, a Fortune 200 company that generates and distributes electrical power worldwide. Before establishing AES in 1981, he served as the Assistant Administrator for Energy Conservation and the Environment at the Federal Energy Administration. Additionally, he was the Director of the Energy Productivity Center, an energy research organization associated with the Mellon Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, and a lecturer in finance at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

As the co-founder and Chair of The Summit Foundation, Roger has made significant contributions to various organizations. He was a Regent of the Smithsonian Institution from 2001 to 2013 and served as its first Board Chair. His board memberships include the World Resources Institute, the World Wildlife Fund-U.S., and the PBS Foundation. He is also on the advisory boards for the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Stanford Advisory Council for the Natural Capital Project, and National Geographic’s Pristine Seas initiative. Previously, he served on the Marriott International Board of Directors from 1994 to 2006.

Roger earned a BS from Brigham Young University and an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School. He is a co-author of Creating Abundance: America’s Least-Cost Energy Strategy (McGraw-Hill, 1982). He is married to Congresswoman Doris O. Matsui, who has represented Sacramento and its surrounding areas since 2005 (CA-7).

Vicky Tauli-Corpuz (Kankanaey Igorot of the Cordillera region of the Philippines) is a UN Expert on Human Rights, an institution and movement builder, and a community organizer. She is a former UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Her experience in fighting for human rights dates back to the early 1970s when she became part of the anti-dictatorship struggle against President Marcos in the Philippines and the assertion of Indigenous Peoples’ rights to self-determination.

She took part in several struggles, which included, among others, the fight against a World Bank funded project, the Chico River Hydroelectric Dam, which would have displaced 100,000 Igorots from their ancestral domains in the Cordillera region in the Philippines. The Igorots succeeded in stopping this project. She was also part of the struggle against the Cellophil Resources Corporation, a company of a Marcos crony, which was seeking to deforest pine forests, including those in her ancestral territory. 

As part of her human rights commitment, Vicky became involved in the drafting, negotiations, and adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples from 1995 to 2007. She chaired the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues from 2005 to 2009. As a movement and institution builder, she helped organize the Igorot student movement in Manila in the 1970s and helped build the Indigenous Peoples’ movement in the Cordillera. 

Vicky has also established and run community-based health programs in various Indigenous communities. She founded several institutions in support of the movement, including Community Health Education, Services and Research in the Cordillera (CHESTCORE, 1983), the Cordillera Women’s Education and Resource Center (CWERC, 1986), and Tebtebba (Indigenous Peoples’ International Centre for Policy Research and Education, 1996).

She also helped build the Indigenous women’s movement in the Philippines, elsewhere in Asia, and globally. She was one of the founders of the Asian Indigenous Women’s Network and the International Forum of Indigenous Women (FIMI). Vicky’s advisory group and board memberships include Conservation International, the UN Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples, the UNDP Civil Society Advisory Committee, the International Forum on Globalization, and the Rights and Resources Group. She is currently a member of the Board of the International Land Tenure Facility, the South Centre, the Third World Network, FIMI, and the Bank Information Center.

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma’s life and career are testament to his enduring belief in culture’s power to generate trust and understanding. Whether performing new or familiar works from the cello repertoire, collaborating with communities and institutions to explore culture’s role in society, or engaging unexpected musical forms, Yo-Yo  strives to foster connections that stimulate the imagination and reinforce our humanity. 

Yo-Yo  was born in 1955 to Chinese parents living in Paris, where he began studying the cello with his father at age four. When he was seven, he moved with his family to New York City, where he continued his cello studies at the Juilliard School. After his conservatory training, he sought out a liberal arts education, graduating from Harvard in 1976.

He has recorded more than 100 albums, is the winner of 18 Grammy Awards, and has performed for nine American presidents, most recently on the occasion of President Biden’s inauguration. He has received numerous awards, including the National Medal of the Arts, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Kennedy Center Honors. He has been a UN Messenger of Peace since 2006, and was recognized as one of TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2020.

His latest album is “Songs of Comfort and Hope”, created and recorded with pianist Kathryn Stott in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.