Francisco Ollervides is better known as “Paco,” a common nickname in Mexico where he was born and raised. For over 20 years, Paco has worked in the non-profit world, specifically developing leadership and building capacity of individuals in environmental and conservation organizations in USA and throughout Latin America. He served as the first Executive Director for Green Leadership Trust. The Green Leadership Trust builds the environmental movement’s power by diversifying its leadership through promotion of best practices that influence board culture and by driving the leadership pipeline for recruitment and retention. He also served in their Steering Committee and as Membership Director.

Prior he worked for River Network as leadership development manager helping non-profits in the Great Lakes region think and act strategically by improving their efficiency and efficacy. Paco is interim Chair of Olentangy Watershed Alliance; board chair of The Stewardship Network and serves in the boards of 100k Trees for Humanity and the Ohio Environmental Council. He is also part of the inaugural advisory board of Healthy Oceans Coalition. Paco’s main interest is to strengthen leaders to ensure organizations’ continuity and success in the areas of strategic planning, fundraising, board development, and succession planning. Paco served as Senior Field Coordinator with the Waterkeeper Alliance advising numerous nonprofit advocacy groups throughout Latin America. He has also served as Director of the School for Field Studies (Center for Coastal Studies) in San Carlos, Mexico. He has been a resident lecturer and adviser in the areas of Economic and Ethical Issues in Sustainable Development, Coastal Ecology, and Resource Ecology and Management (Boston University). He has participated in and presented at numerous professional and academic conferences, both in the U.S. and internationally. Paco is a biochemical engineer and a bio-acoustician by training. He has conducted field work assessing the impacts of boat noise on gray whale behavior. Paco holds both M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences Department at Texas A&M University. Paco is based near Columbus, Ohio. In his free time, he likes to go on long walks in the woods with his entire family, travel, and savor local cuisine and history.