Colleen Scanlan Lyons, Ph.D., is a cultural anthropologist who serves as the Project Director for the GCF Task Force. Colleen is also an Associate Research Professor with the Environmental Studies Program (ENVS), the Co-Director of the Laboratory for Energy and Environmental Policy Innovation, and a Research Associate with the Environment and Society Program in CU’s Institute of Behavioral Science. In addition to her work with the GCF Task Force, Colleen teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on integrated conservation and development in Brazil’s Amazon and Atlantic Forests, mentors students, and conducts research on topics ranging from livelihoods in the Atlantic Forest to artisanal mining in Peru and Colombia. She is completing a book on social movements in the biodiversity hotspot of Southern Bahia, Brazil. Colleen is passionate about engaging diverse groups of people—from governmental leaders and civil servants to civil society, private sector and philanthropic actors—to co-construct integrated approaches to conservation, development, and education. She has worked with a range of social-environmental institutions and organizations including the National Institute for Research in the Amazon (INPA), the American Forum for Global Education, the City of Boulder Open Space Department, the Climate Reality Project, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the Global Greengrants Fund. While her geographic expertise lies in Brazil, where she has nearly three decades of experience in the Amazon and Atlantic Forests, she has also developed projects in Bolivia, Belize, Costa Rica, Indonesia, Uganda, and the United States. She holds a BA from the University of Notre Dame, MA degrees in International Development and Anthropology from the School for International Training and CU, respectively, and a Ph.D. in Anthropology from CU.