Her Story
About Pamela
I started working in carbon markets about 2 years ago in 2024. Currently, I serve as a CDR consultant for Project 2030, a role I've held since January as part of my capstone project. At the same time, I work as a graduate student researcher at the Berkeley Trading Carbon Project, also starting in 2024. My expertise centers on carbon markets, nature-based solutions, and project management. My passion for this field began in college when I took a climate change class and realized the urgency and need for us to act. I wanted to do something to help mitigate the effects of climate change, and seeing all the women in this sector pushing the correct efforts and incentives to make a better world has been very inspiring for me. When I decided to shift gears and take a deep dive into carbon markets, I wanted to see if carbon markets could be a tool to fund nature-based solutions. One of my most significant professional achievements came when I was a project manager at my first job in Mexico, where I secured $25 million in funding for a climate initiative in the southeast of Mexico from the Green Climate Fund between 2023 and 2024. Throughout my career, I've had the opportunity to be part of amazing teams with great mentors and leaders who believed in me and gave me a chance to prove myself and show my skills. I've collaborated with numerous leading organizations including the Mexican Fund for the Conservation of Nature where I used to work, World Wildlife Fund, World Resources Institute, Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy, and more recently the Hewlett Foundation and ClimateWorks Foundation.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Pamela
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my effort, my dedication, and my hard work. I've also had the opportunity to be part of amazing teams with great mentors and leaders who believed in me and gave me a chance to prove myself and show my skills. Having people who trust in your abilities and provide opportunities to demonstrate what you can do has been instrumental in my journey.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
One thing that has been super helpful has been to connect with the people around your sector. Really be proactive with meeting people who are taking the big decisions. Have the courage to take a very active role in what you're interested about. Building those connections and being bold enough to engage with decision-makers in your field can open important doors.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
First, really understand the context and focus on what is needed. Right now, there is a huge gap of financing towards climate solutions, and there is a lot of need for good implementation efforts with some of the current commitments that we have. I would say to align your incentives with what you're seeing out there and look for the climate solutions or opportunities that are really creating impact on the ground. Don't just follow trends, focus on where you can make a real difference in implementation and funding of meaningful climate work.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
A really big challenge is to align multiple stakeholders and align incentives. When I decided to shift gears and take a deep dive into carbon markets, I wanted to see if carbon markets could be a tool to fund nature-based solutions. As of now, I'm seeing that the incentives are not there to create proper funding, because the way the incentives are structured, they're not really creating the outcome that we want to see. Aligning policy with science and the market, and bringing investors together is not as easy as it should be, so getting the important people at the table to collaborate is a big challenge but something that we need to do. On the opportunity side, there is a lot of potential in scaling many solutions that are right now being developed, and doing partnerships with important stakeholders can help drive that growth.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
In my personal life, I value loyalty, accountability, and responsibility. In my work life, the most important values to me are collaboration, creativity, resilience, and flexibility. These values guide how I approach both my professional projects and my personal relationships.
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