Our Team

Yael Falicov, Executive Director

With over a decade of experience supporting community-led sustainable development, Yael oversees the implementation of our mission, and works with the Board to determine our goals and strategic objectives. She creates and manages the annual budget and fundraising plan, supervises staff and communicates with institutional and individual donors.

Yael arrived at EcoViva after 7.5 years at International Development Exchange (IDEX) in San Francisco, first as the Latin America Program Director and later as Director of Programs. At IDEX, Yael channeled funds and technical resources to community-based organizations in seven countries, promoting effective, locally-led, ecologically sustainable solutions to poverty.

Prior to her time at IDEX, Yael worked in the field of community health, and was involved in immigrant rights, environmental justice, and youth empowerment organizations in California. The daughter of immigrants from Argentina, she has used her Spanish-language skills as an interpreter and translator. Yael has a Bachelor's degree in International Development Studies from UC Berkeley, a Master's degree in Public Health from UCLA, and a lifelong passion for international environmental issues.

Adriana Solís López, National Outreach Director

Adriana is primarily responsible for strengthening, diversifying and growing EcoViva’s network of core supporters, and providing up-to-date communications to our followers.  She supports the Executive Director and Board of Directors with outreach to individual supporters, and works closely with the Board Fundraising Committee to meet the fundraising needs of the organization.  In addition, Adriana supports EcoViva’s volunteer committees, house parties and Community Empowerment Tours (CET) program.

Adriana has over ten years of for-profit and public service experience in the areas of project management, administration, development and communications.  Most recently, she worked at SEEDS Community Resolution Center (SEEDS), a non-profit that provides conflict resolution services in Alameda County as a Fund Development & Communications Manager.  While at SEEDS, she was responsible for the execution of all fundraising and marketing related projects including individual donor cultivation, event planning, grant writing, and external communications.

Adriana is originally from Southeast Los Angeles.  She attended East Los Angeles College and transferred to the University of California, Berkeley, where she graduated with a B.A. in History focusing on Latin American Studies in 2010.  Adriana loves to shoot natural light photography, write creatively and explore the outdoors on her spare time.

Nathan Weller, Program and Policy Director

Alternating his time between Washington, D.C. and El Salvador, Nathan employs his expertise in environmental policy to actively build alliances between our partners and key international actors in the fields of conservation and development. He provides them with ongoing technical support in the areas of strategic planning, policy advocacy and program management. He also recruits and manages skilled professionals who work in El Salvador on a voluntary basis to meet our partners' strategic objectives.

Nathan has a robust experience in community development and conservation, and has been privileged to have lived and worked among the communities of the Lower Lempa. As a graduate researcher with the Monterrey Institute for International Studies, Nathan worked closely with leadership and staff of La Coordinadora to strengthen strategies toward community-based conservation and adaptation to climate change. We are fortunate to have him on board full time with EcoViva.

Dionicia Lara, Office Manager

Dionicia is the engine that keeps EcoViva running, our Jill-of-All-Trades. She oversees our day-to-day operations, including ensuring compliance with workplace and personnel policies, receiving donations, paying bills, managing our database and much more.   Just prior to joining our team, she worked for a very large nonprofit homecare agency as a supervisor for homecare providers.  Previous to that she worked as a legal assistant at a small law firm.

Dionicia was born in a very small town called Canton Barahona in the department of La Paz, El Salvador. She came to the United States when she was 14 years old. She is the eldest of 4 children, and attended school in El Salvador up to 8^th grade. She graduated from Balboa High School in San Francisco, CA in 1994. She is a Certified Nurse Assistant and has worked as a home health aide for a non-profit hospice organization. She has taken pre-requisites at City College of San Francisco to become a Registered Nurse, which has been her dream since she was a little girl.

Dionicia enjoys listening to music, reading and writing, and dancing. She loves Disneyland and tries to go at least once a year. She loves to learn to do different things, and her next project is to learn to hike.

EcoViva Board of Directors

Jeff Haas, Board Chair

Karina Copen,Vice-Chair

James Baker, Sr.,Treasurer

Mary Frances LaPorte, Secretary

Harold Baron, Chair Emeritus

Jillian Baker

Fr. Jim Chamberlain

Karla Pérez-Cordero

Rhina Ramos

Erik Schnabel

Steve Solnit

Advisory Board

Rebecca L. & James J. Burns

Sharon and Gary Davidson

John and Carolyn Blume Hickman

Bill and Vicki Leonard

Mariel Nanasi

Gilbert Prud'homme

William T. Reid, IV

Richard and Greta Salem

Anna Von Essen

Robert Zeigler