The Board of Directors at the London Environmental Network (LEN) is thrilled to announce the appointment of Amanda Acosta as the organization’s incoming Executive Director.
Amanda Acosta brings almost two decades working in conservation, with most of her career focused within the NGO sector in Belize. Her expertise is in protected areas management, management effectiveness and strategic leadership. Amanda has served on the executive committees of several conservation networks in Belize, as well as general civil society networks. She is a member of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) and has served on several Expert Appraisal groups for Green Listing (EAGL) in the Central American region.
Amanda’s academic background is in science, with a Bachelor of Science from the College of Charleston, South Carolina and a Master of Science from Nova Southeastern University in Florida. She loves the outdoors, reading and travelling. As a recent resident to London, she seeks to contribute in a meaningful way to the community with her passion being a positive impact for people and nature.
The Board is confident that Amanda’s experience in operational and strategic management, and non-profit leadership, will embolden the LEN and its members as we continue to steer our city and community to be environmentally sustainable and steadfast. This is an exciting transition for the LEN, one that the organization is well-positioned for. With new leadership comes new opportunities, and Amanda is poised to smoothly step into her role and the community. From fostering new relationships and building-on existing ones, to growing the core capabilities and operations at the LEN, we are excited about Amanda’s ability to transform this new opportunity into success for the Network.
Amanda is stepping into her role during turbulent and uncertain times, particularly in the environmental sector. As always, the strength of the LEN is found in its membership and the community, and is realized when we listen to, learn from, and work with each other. The LEN maintains its strong commitment to making London one of the greenest and most resilient cities in Canada. Fostering a relationship-driven approach, coupled with effective and strategic programming, will be essential to Amanda and the staff team for making this vision a reality. Thank you to the membership and community for all the work you do to support the environmental sector. Over the coming weeks, we look forward to connecting Amanda with our network of staff, volunteers, members, and community partners. We are excited to further the LEN’s mission for positive environmental change through Amanda’s leadership.
The Board and Staff teams would also like to send a big thank-you to Leah Derikx, who over the last two years has twice stepped into the Interim Executive Director role. The organization’s appreciation of Leah’s willingness to shoulder this role during these times of transition cannot be overstated. Not only has Leah successfully filled the role, but she has driven forward the LEN’s programming and operations while doing it, and ably handled the challenges that arose during this time. Thank you, Leah! We wish you a smooth transition back to your Director of Operations role.
On behalf of the LEN Board of Directors,
Myles Swift, Chair, London Environmental Network
Ann-Marie Cooper, Past Chair, London Environmental Network
