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Laura Whitford is the Director of Conservation Partnerships for The Nature Conservancy's Asia Pacific Program. She leads a regional team focused on public and corporate partnerships, as well as TNC’s engagement with the Asian Development Bank. She has worked in the Asia Pacific region for over 15 years, on partnerships, policy and programs that support the joint achievement of sustainable natural resource management, resilience, equity and economic development goals. She is particularly passionate about the intersection of issues relating to environment, climate and gender. She has graduate degrees in Environmental Management and International Development; Communication; and Psychology, and is based in Melbourne, Australia.