Nemonte Nenquimo
Co-founder
Ceibo Alliance
Mother and leader, who has dedicated her life to the defense of Indigenous ancestral territory and cultural survival in the Amazon rainforest. She is the co-founder of the Indigenous-led nonprofit organization Ceibo Alliance – a UNDP Equator Prize-winning community – and Amazon Frontlines. As the first female president of the Waorani organization of Pastaza province, Nemonte led her people to a historic legal victory against the Ecuadorian government, which protected half a million acres of primary rainforest in the Amazon from oil drilling and set a precedent for Indigenous rights across the region. She is the winner of the Goldman Environmental Prize for Central and South America, the United Nations’ Champions of the Earth Award, BBC 100 Women of 2020, and TIME 100 Most Influential People in the World.