Rodolfo Lopez
Mexico Director of Ashoka Full Economic Citizenship Initiative (FEC)
A most respected forestry expert in Mexico, Rodolfo brings to Ashoka over 30 years of experience as an entrepreneur and skilled negotiator, able to move easily between complex political bureaucracies and indigenous communities. Rodolfo has consulted institutions from the private, social, and government sectors interested in sustainable development. He was elected an Ashoka Fellow in 1989 thanks to his work in forest preservation and empowerment of indigenous communities through his market-based approach of community-led forestry companies.
Throughout his life, Rodolfo has created several organizations, including the first autonomous second-level organization in Mexico—the Union of Forest Communities and Ejidos of Oaxaca—as well as ASETECO, a CSO dedicated to training community leaders interested in building their own forest companies with a triple bottom line approach. Rodolfo has provided management training to thousands of community leaders, created a similar amount of permanent jobs, and developed an entirely new economic infrastructure for the area. Rodolfo is also responsible for a heightened environmental consciousness in Mexico which has helped expand Oaxaca’s forests. His work in forestry has been published in several languages. Currently, Rodolfo leads Ashoka’s Full Economic Citizenship initiative in Mexico to create business-social commercial joint ventures to better benefit low-income communities.