Maureen Geesey

Maureen Geesey is a Program Officer for the Conservation and Markets Initiative at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.12 In this role, she focuses on strategies to mitigate the impact of global food production on ecosystems and biodiversity.3

Responsibilities and Focus Areas

As part of the Conservation and Markets team, Maureen's work involves:

• Addressing the environmental challenges associated with global food production
• Developing strategies to reduce the negative impacts of agriculture and seafood commodities on critical ecosystems
• Supporting initiatives that aim to decouple food production from ecosystem degradation4

Foundation's Conservation and Markets Initiative

The Conservation and Markets Initiative, which Maureen is involved with, has several key objectives:

• Eliminating overfishing and ecosystem degradation resulting from globally traded agriculture and seafood commodities
• Addressing the environmental impacts of agriculture, which covers nearly 40% of the world's ice-free land
• Promoting sustainable practices in aquaculture and global fisheries
• Encouraging sustainable investment in the food production sector1

Context of Her Work

Maureen's role is situated within the broader context of the foundation's efforts to address global food production challenges. The initiative recognizes that feeding a growing global population (expected to reach 9-10 billion by 2050) will require a 70% increase in food production. The foundation aims to develop systemic solutions that can conserve critical ecosystems while meeting these increasing food demands.1