Maritza Arizaga joined the Maryland/DC Chapter of The Nature Conservancy in March of 2017. As Conservation-Operations Coordinator she supports the conservation and philanthropy teams to drive effective conservation priorities in clean water and climate resilience. Most recently her work focuses on supporting projects and handling operations and finance requests in the Maryland/DC Chapter. As part of her current administrative role, she is currently co-developing a Green Office Initiative focused on driving sustainability outcomes and best practices to reduce carbon emissions at an organizational level.
Prior to joining TNC, Maritza worked for Colorado State University as Logistics Coordinator for the Center for Protected Area Management. Key components of her role included supporting and facilitating capacity-building and leadership trainings for international conservationists and practitioners. While in this role, she had the opportunity to travel throughout western U.S and visit some of the most iconic national parks such as Yellowstone, Tetons, and Rocky Mountain National Park. Based on the nature of her travels, she was able attain experience in different conservation management methodologies and Leave No Trace practices in rural and wilderness environments. Among the most notable techniques include leading backcountry trips with llamas in Colorado.