As Chief Program Officer, Ria Stout leads our work to address the global crises of biodiversity, poverty, and climate in the most critical landscapes across Africa, Asia Pacific, and Latin America. By bringing producers, forest communities, companies, governments, and other stakeholders together, the Rainforest Alliance is making deep-rooted change on some of the most pressing issues of our time.
Based in Guatemala City, Guatemala, Ria joined the Rainforest Alliance in 2004. Prior to working for the Rainforest Alliance, she was a co-founder of the Fundación Utz Kapeh, which later evolved into UTZ; in early 2018, UTZ merged with the Rainforest Alliance.
She holds an M.A. in social anthropology and sociology of non-western societies from the University of Amsterdam and a degree in journalism from the Academy of Journalism in Zwolle, the Netherlands.