Karin is ISEAL's Executive Director
I joined ISEAL as staff in late 2009 as Scaling Up Director and became Executive Director in November 2012. My first major project was to develop the ISEAL members’ Strategy for Scaling Up the Impacts of Voluntary Standards. This project provided a great opportunity to talk to businesses, producers, donors and standards systems, and ask what they need to do to increase the scope and scale of their sustainability impacts. After finishing the Scaling Up Strategy I’ve been working with members on a range of collaboration projects, developing a plan for expanding and increasing engagement with the ISEAL Community, and building ISEAL’s engagement with the corporate sector.
I also lead an exciting new project on global sustainable public procurement and scaling up sustainability standards in emerging economies.
Before ISEAL...
I was a founder of Rainforest Alliance, and worked there for over 20 years, first as Associate Director, and then as Director of Sustainable Agriculture. During that time I was involved in the start up of Rainforest Alliance’s forestry, agriculture and tourism programs and was able to see a wide range of ways that standards systems can be used to achieve sustainability goals. After many years in New York, it was time for a new challenge and adventure, and in 2004 I moved to Costa Rica where I took on the role of Director of Sustainable Agriculture and the leadership of the Sustainable Agriculture Network. At that time I also joined the board of ISEAL, and spent four years as the Chair of the Board of Directors.
I hold a BFA and an MBA from New York University. I speak Spanish and I'm trying to re-claim the French I learned through years of studying but haven’t been able to use as much through work!
Ask me about:
Scaling Up, standards collaboration, standards business models, sustainable agriculture, history of the standards movement, smallholder access to standards, business engagement
I am based in:
London
