I am motivated to create bridges and collaborations between Stanford and Latin American governments, institutions, academics, and local communities, so that we can together find ways to effectively protect natural ecosystems across Latin America. I am passionate about collaborating with members of underrepresented groups so that we can think differently about the problems and the solutions to combat biodiversity loss. I am most proud of the series of webinars that I have coordinated with my colleagues, which we offered in Spanish/English with simultaneous translation. Most recently, we convened a group of actors that would typically not interact, because of the increased effort on translation, interpretation, and recruitment. Being able to reduce language barriers to increase participation in meaningful ways has allowed me to create deep relationships with the Colombian government and with the Costa Rican coffee institute, albeit the pandemic.