Since Niyanta Spelman founded Rainforest Partnership in 2007, one conviction has guided our work: lasting rainforest protection begins with the people who call the forest home. By working alongside rainforest communities to create sustainable economic opportunities, we help make standing forests more valuable—and conservation more durable.
This month, Rainforest Partnership begins an important new chapter. Niyanta has transitioned from Founding CEO to Chair of our Board of Directors, and Tatiana Kaletsch, MPH, has been appointed CEO.
This is a transition grounded in continuity. Our mission, vision, and community-centered approach remain firmly in place. Niyanta’s leadership, imagination, and persistence built Rainforest Partnership into an internationally connected organization with programs spanning community partnership, science, and global awareness. As Board Chair, she will continue to help guide the organization she created.
As Board Chair, Spelman will focus on Rainforest Partnership's global advocacy and international presence, representing the organization at UN convenings, climate summits, and conservation gatherings worldwide, and continuing as a lead voice for World Rainforest Day and Films for the Forest. In parallel, she will lead the expansion of the Board of Directors and the establishment of a committee model, building the governance capacity to match the organization's growing reach.
"Rainforest Partnership has reached the point where our ambition and our success require an evolution to match them, and finding Tatiana is what made this the right moment. She is the partner I hoped for, and the organization is stronger for her arrival. My focus remains the relationships Rainforest Partnership has cultivated over nineteen years, along with the new ones now emerging from our track record of success. Our partners, our funders, and the international community that has grown up around this work are the reason our model reaches as far as it does."
Tatiana joined Rainforest Partnership in December 2025 as Co-CEO, beginning a carefully planned period of shared leadership with Niyanta. Over the past seven months, they have worked closely to strengthen operations and workflows. Tatiana has also immersed herself in every part of the organization—from programs, fundraising, and communications to finance, human resources, project management, and the protocols and relationships that sustain our work.
Her path to Rainforest Partnership brings together 25 years in public health with 15 years of deepening service to conservation and nonprofit organizations. She is now concluding her public-health career to dedicate herself fully to Rainforest Partnership. Tatiana’s leadership experience includes land conservation, species preservation, grantmaking, nonprofit governance, donor and partner relations, operations, and project management. Her conservation leadership includes National Geographic Society’s Clark Council; The Explorers Club’s Impact Grants Committee; the Board and Executive Committee of Westchester Land Trust; and the Grants Committee of the Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley. She previously served for six years on the board of New York City Audubon, now NYC Bird Alliance.
“I am excited to bring this broad experience to Rainforest Partnership at a critical time for conservation around the world,” Tatiana said. “The organization has powerful international partners and distinctive programs that unite science, community, and public awareness. From New York City, I look forward to creating a second home for Rainforest Partnership and opening new opportunities for our work and mission.”
That second home represents part of the opportunity ahead: expanding Rainforest Partnership’s network, visibility, partnerships, and support while remaining rooted in Austin and closely connected to the communities and international partners at the heart of our work.
We are deeply grateful to Niyanta for the organization she has built and for the leadership she will continue to provide. We are equally excited to welcome Tatiana into the CEO role. Together—with our staff, Board, community partners, donors, volunteers, and supporters—we will carry Rainforest Partnership’s vision forward.
Thank you for being part of this next chapter. Learn more about our work at www.rainforestpartnership.org.
