2026 BOARD OF DIRECTOR ELECTIONS
Thank you for taking part in The Adventure Travel Conservation Fund’s member-elected board vote. Your voice matters, and this is your opportunity to help shape the leadership and future direction of our organization. Below you’ll find a shortlist of candidates who have been carefully reviewed by the ATCF staff and Board of Directors. Each brings unique experience, perspective, and passion for community-led conservation through travel. Please review the candidate profiles and select the individuals you believe will best represent our membership and help guide the ATCF forward.
Voting will remain open until February 27, 2026.
Charlie Clark, Director of Philanthropy, Cotopaxi
Charlie is a Portland, OR–based dad of two with nearly two decades of experience in the outdoor and adventure travel industry, including the past ten years focused on philanthropy and international grantmaking within B1 companies (Certified B Corp and 1% for the Planet members). He currently manages operations and grantmaking strategy for the Cotopaxi Foundation and previously led nonprofit partnerships and grant disbursements at MiiR and other outdoor brands. He brings deep experience in due diligence, monitoring and evaluation, partnership management, and impact storytelling, along with perspective from both the funder and nonprofit sides, including time with Raincoast Conservation Foundation. Charlie holds a Master of Nonprofit Leadership from Seattle University and previously served in an advisory role on ATCF’s Grants Committee. He is eager to help shape ATCF’s next chapter and brings a strong network across funders, nonprofits, and the outdoor industry.
Juan Carlos Garcia, General Coordinator, Kapawi Ecolodge & Trek Ecuador
Juan Carlos Garcia has worked in the travel and conservation world for more than 28 years, combining extensive experience both in the private and conservation sectors. He started his professional career as a naturalist guide in the Amazon Rainforest. Later in life, and for more than a decade, he managed several national and regional conservation and ecotourism programs for international NGOs, including The Nature Conservancy and The World Wildlife Fund – WWF Ecuador. In addition to programmatic and leadership roles in travel and conservation, Juan Carlos spent significant time over the years with assignments in the Amazon Rainforest and the Galapagos Islands, as well as other international assignments in Latin America, and Namibia. Juan Carlos established his tour operator in 2005, Trek Ecuador, to help connect responsible travelers with unique and authentic travel experiences in Ecuador. Since 2018, he works with his company and with indigenous Achuar communities in the Amazon Rainforest, and as a consultant for several NGOs, focused on strengthening travel as a tool for conservation and sustainable development, as well as to reduce the human footprint in the areas where adventure travel takes place.
Jim Kane, Director of Sustainability & Outreach, Exito Travel
Jim Kane is a leader at the intersection of food, travel, and scalable impact. A longtime advocate for transformational travel, he is the founder of an award-winning boutique tour operator, creator and host of the PBS docuseries The Food Principle, and Director of Sustainability and Outreach for Exito Travel, a flight specialist serving more than 150 active and conservation-focused tour operators. Impact has always anchored Jim’s work. He co-created the annual Weavers Awards in partnership with a Peruvian NGO and National Geographic grantee Nilda Callañaupa, directing more than $60,000 over a decade to Indigenous women weavers and helping revitalize traditional textile arts. At Exito, he led industry-first sustainability commitments, including offsetting 100% of direct travelers’ flight emissions and becoming a certified 1% for the Planet business member. Jim believes collaboration among like-minded conservation leaders is the most powerful way to scale impact and is excited about advancing that vision through service on ATCF’s board.
Anne Woods,
Jim Kane is a leader at the intersection of food, travel, and scalable impact. A longtime advocate for transformational travel, he is the founder of an award-winning boutique tour operator, creator and host of the PBS docuseries The Food Principle, and Director of Sustainability and Outreach for Exito Travel, a flight specialist serving more than 150 active and conservation-focused tour operators. Impact has always anchored Jim’s work. He co-created the annual Weavers Awards in partnership with a Peruvian NGO and National Geographic grantee Nilda Callañaupa, directing more than $60,000 over a decade to Indigenous women weavers and helping revitalize traditional textile arts. At Exito, he led industry-first sustainability commitments, including offsetting 100% of direct travelers’ flight emissions and becoming a certified 1% for the Planet business member. Jim believes collaboration among like-minded conservation leaders is the most powerful way to scale impact and is excited about advancing that vision through service on ATCF’s board.