Program Staff

William Dent, Jr.
Program Director

Mr. Dent is a native of Washington, DC. After attending the University of Maryland, where he earned a Bachelor's in history, he served in the Peace Corps in Chile. Upon his return, he did graduate work at the University of Chicago, earning a Master's degree in education and an MBA in finance. With the support of the Ford Foundation, Mr. Dent moved to Brazil to serve as a consultant to BNDES, the National Development Bank of Brazil, where he sensed the need for better business training and assisted Roberto Lima Netto in founding SEBRAE, Brazil's Small Business Administration, today the country's most important 'business school' for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Mr. Dent then served as project manager at the Inter-American Development Bank putting together a number of innovative projects in Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Honduras and Costa Rica, involving investments in excess of $2 billion. During the 1990's, Mr. Dent founded and was CEO of CD-ROM International, pioneering the introduction of U.S. and European bibliographic databases (e.g., Medline) and related IT services at some 200 institutions throughout Brazil.

After a consulting assignment with the World Wildlife Fund (USA), Mr. Dent realized how relevant his business experience could be to local environmental groups in Latin America and began a mentoring program for environmental leaders in Brazil and Paraguay to help them improve their business skills, dialogue effectively with local business executives, and win more local support for community-based projects that combine biodiversity conservation and sustainable development.

In February 2003, he founded Natural Partners, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) created to assist community-based groups in Latin America to mobilize the financial and human resources needed to preserve their cultural and natural heritage. Mr. Dent currently serves as the Executive Director of Natural Partners and leads its major programs, which include (1) the Monarch Sister Schools Program for schools in the U.S. and Mexico; (2) the Atlantic Rainforest Program in Brazil promoting the building of “ecological corridors” from the remaining fragments of that rainforest; and (3) an innovative eco-travel program with local partners in Brazil and Mexico to generate support for the preservation of vital natural areas in those countries.

Dr. Christopher F. Puttock
Chief Botanist/Garden Planner

Dr. Puttock holds a doctorate in plant systematics and a diploma in science education, with many years of fieldwork and research experience in biodiversity, staff supervision and educational outreach. Dr. Puttock has more than 30 years professional experience in environmental science, including a decade of various outreach programs for greater community awareness of the consequences of human interruption to the natural environment.

As a conservation scientist, he is convinced that without the effective implementation of outreach strategies to coordinate sustainable use of natural resources and to preserve the world’s ecosystems, the welfare of humanity and all the Earth’s biodiversity will continue to suffer irreparable degradation. As Program Coordinator of the Hawai‘i Conservation Alliance (HCA, 2005-2007) and as an advisory member of the HCA in earlier years (2001-2004), he successfully enlarged the HCA partnership from 11 terrestrial ecosystem management organisations to 16 partners encompassing Federal and State marine and aquatic agencies, and OHA, the most influential Native Hawaiian NGO.

Roberto La Rocca
Program Coordinator

Roberto La Rocca is an Italian MBA graduate and avid traveler. He recently graduated summa cum laude from the University of Lugano, Switzerland, which promotes an international environment with students coming from all over the world. He has accumulated a lot of great experience in group projects and organizational behavior, having to face, on a daily basis, different situations created by the numerous cultures and nationalities at his school. He was selected from his university to attend Virginia Tech in the fall semester of 2009, where he helped the Environmental Coalition in fundraising activities. Member of the Rotaract Club of Washington, D.C., he is passionate about management consulting and also has a personal interest in environmental affairs, sustainability and innovation management. As of today, he has visited more than 20 countries and travel sparks his appetite for intercultural relations.