Deborah Spalding

We often hear about the tradeoffs between investing in forests for financial returns and the need to protect and restore landscapes for communities and climate resiliency. But what if we can do both at the same time? This session will explore emerging financial mechanisms designed to achieve multiple stakeholder objectives while creating sustainable, healthy and productive landscapes.  

Speaker Biography

Deborah Spalding – Global Head of Nature Finance, Conservation International

Deborah Spalding is the Global Head of Nature Finance at Conservation International, where she oversees a 50-person team that mobilizes investment for nature, encompassing carbon finance, impact advisory services, financing for protected and conserved areas, financing of nature-positive economies through loans, equity and flexible financing, and other innovative financial structures. Previously, she served as Chief Investment Officer of Commonfund OCIO, a $16 billion investment advisor to foundations and endowments. Prior to that, she was the Chief Investment Officer of the State of Connecticut. In 2007, Spalding co-founded Working Lands Investment Partners, LLC, an independent investment management firm that invests in markets for wetlands mitigation, water quality, and habitat banking. She has also held executive positions in international investments at Schroders Investment Management N.A. and Scudder Kemper Investments. Deborah received a B.A. from Tufts University and holds graduate degrees from Harvard University, the University of California at Berkeley, and a Master of Forestry from Yale University. She is past Board Chair of the National Wildlife Federation and past board member of the US Endowment for Forestry and Communities and the Green Century Funds. She is a Lecture at the Yale School of the Environment and an advisory board member for the Yale Center for Business and the Environment.