Kevin Koenig named 2016 Commencement Speaker

May 04, 2016

kevin-koenig

Kevin Koenig has been named College Nine speaker for the upcoming commencement ceremony. The UCSC Alum and Program Director for Amazon Watch will speak at the College Nine Commencement on June 12, 2016. Find out more about College Nine Commencement here.

Kevin is the Ecuador Program Director for Amazon Watch. He is a leading expert on resource and rights conflicts in the western Amazon Basin, having worked for over two decades with indigenous peoples in the defense of their territories and rights throughout the region's rainforests.

From the frontlines to the corporate boardroom, Kevin has collaborated with indigenous peoples in challenging and influencing oil drilling projects, government development policies, finance for mega-infrastructure projects, lending practices, and demand-side U.S. oil consumption, winning important victories and setting legal precedents.

He has also worked for solutions to keep fossil fuels in the ground, working for Ecuador's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in launching the historic Yasuni-ITT proposal that sought to leave almost 920 million barrels crude permanently in the ground.

Kevin is co-owner and brewmaster at La Cuchara de San Marcos restaurant in Quito, Ecuador, where he lives with his wife and two children. Follow him on Twitter: @kevinmkoenig.