Mariana Panuncio-Feldman

Country Engagement Director

Mariana is the Country Engagement Director for the NDC Partnership. Mariana leads the team that helps developing countries access technical and financial assistance to deliver on their nationally determined contributions (NDCs), in collaboration with development and implementing partners.

Originally from Argentina, Mariana has worked in climate change and environmental conservation internationally for over 20 years. As Senior Director for International Climate Cooperation at WWF, Mariana coordinated efforts across countries to accelerate climate action by the private sector, subnational governments, academia, and civil society, and support national governments in delivering their climate commitments. Mariana also oversaw WWF-US policy engagement in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

Before this position, Mariana served as WWF’s lead for climate change mitigation and adaptation in the Latin America and the Caribbean region (LAC). Mariana also managed WWF’s national offices in Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, and Peru. Prior to these positions, Mariana worked to support the conservation of the Amazon Biome. This included co-chairing the technical working group that developed WWF's global strategy for the nine-country biome and supporting the implementation of the new strategy. Mariana also designed and spearheaded a tri-national program that supported the establishment and improved management of more than 16 million hectares of protected areas and indigenous territories in Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru.

Before joining WWF, Mariana worked for The Summit Foundation to support organizations working to conserve the Mesoamerican Reef and the Atlantic Forest in the LAC region, The Nature Conservancy to assess the impact of community-based conservation and development projects in the Amazon, and a network of farmer organizations to conserve Peru’s agricultural biodiversity.

Mariana received a B.A. in biology from Mount Holyoke College and an M.S. in conservation biology and sustainable development from the University of Maryland.