Rowena Soriaga brings over 25 years of expertise in natural resource management, sustainable rural development and community-based environmental governance. As Director for Programs Development at the Environmental Science for Social Change (ESSC), contributor to the Philippine Watershed Management Coalition (PWMC) and Asia-Pacific Co-Lead for Assisted Natural Generation Alliance, her work bridges scientific research with grassroots social processes. She has led initiatives and co-authored publications on community forest management, climate resilience, and watershed governance across the Visayas and Southeast Asia. A dedicated advocate for grounding macro-level policies in local action, Ms. Soriaga works alongside civil society and local institutions to mainstream nature-based solutions into barangay development planning and river basin management. She holds a BS in Business Economics from the University of the Philippines and a Master of Development Management from the Asian Institute of Management.