Cristián Samper

Board Member
Portrait of Cristián Samper

Cristián Samper is the Managing Director and Leader for Nature Solutions at the Bezos Earth Fund, overseeing work related to the protection and restoration of nature, as well as the transformation of food systems. Prior to that, he served as President & CEO of the Wildlife Conservation Society from 2002 to 2012, overseeing the largest network of urban wildlife parks, hosting four million visitors each year, and long-term field research and conservation programs in more than 60 countries. He also served as Director of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History for a decade, overseeing the largest museum collection in the world, hosting seven million visitors a year.

Raised in Colombia, Cristián was the founding director of the Humboldt National Biodiversity Institute and policy advisor to the government of Colombia. Dr. Samper studied biology at the Universidad de Los Andes and earned his MA and PhD from Harvard University.

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Steven Koch and Nicholas Turner Join Joyce Foundation Board

The Joyce Foundation is pleased to welcome to its board of directors Steven Koch, a corporate leader who most recently was interim CEO of bike share company Motivate, and Nicholas Turner, president and director of the Vera Institute of Justice.

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Cecilia Muñoz Joins Joyce Foundation Board

The Joyce Foundation is delighted to announce that Cecilia Muñoz, a national leader in public policy and public interest technology, has joined its board of directors.

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Joyce Foundation Welcomes Samper, Smith Baker to Board of Directors

Cristián Samper, president and CEO of the Wildlife Conservation Society, and Chanda Smith Baker, the senior vice president of impact with The Minneapolis Foundation, have been elected to serve on the Joyce Foundation’s board of directors.