Sophia Wood

As a Program Manager at Carbon Direct, Sophia works at the intersection of climate science, technology, and carbon markets to accelerate high-integrity climate solutions. Her role involves managing carbon project portfolios and partnerships that drive meaningful emissions reductions through nature-based and engineered solutions.

Her work is driven by a deep belief in harnessing the power of technology and financial innovation to empower communities to conserve and sustainably manage their land. This conviction has guided her career from entrepreneurship to investment and conservation management across Africa, Latin America, and the South Pacific. Sophia has spent over a year living in the Amazon Rainforest, leading biodiversity research with Operation Wallacea in Ecuador and Guyana—experiences that taught her that effective conservation is inseparable from community wellbeing.

Sophia also holds an MSc in Environmental Policy & Regulation from the London School of Economics, where she specialized in quantitative modeling and geospatial analysis for forest conservation. Her dissertation examined payments for ecosystem services and deforestation dynamics in Central African rainforests, exploring how economic incentives can support both forests and forest communities.

In her previous role at Pachama, Sophia originally joined the team to manage Pachama’s North American forest carbon projects as Project Success Manager and progressed through multiple roles to support Pachama’s geospatial technology development as Program Manager. Her experience ranges from managing nature-based carbon projects from contracting through validation to collaborating with Science and Engineering teams to build innovative products for carbon project assessment and monitoring.

Now based in Mexico City, she continues bridging science, technology, and on-the-ground impact in the fight against climate change. Outside work, Sophia enjoys hiking, triathlon training, traveling, dancing salsa, and exploring the city with her dog, Selva.