As Chief Program Officer, Ria Stout leads our work in Africa, Asia Pacific, and in Latin America; our Assurance work; and our Global Programs. She provides strategic direction and operational oversight to the organization’s certification, global frameworks, and landscape management programs. Ria and her team work together with farmers, forest communities, companies, governments, and other stakeholders to address the global crises of poverty, biodiversity loss, and climate change.
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.