Laura Mateo
Laura is responsible for promoting Preferred by Nature’s Sustainable Tourism certification in Mexico. Her responsibilities include serving as a lead auditor on selected assessments and audits, managing the execution of all tourism auditing engagements in Mexico, following up on contracts and certification administration services, and updating Preferred by Nature database.
Laura began her career in the areas of administration for private companies and government institutions. In June 2006, she joined the Rainforest Alliance office in Oaxaca, Mexico.
She started in the administration unit, focused on forest certification processes in Mexico. In that role, Laura maintained close contact with ejidos, communities and companies. She was tasked with monitoring sustainable processes implemented in forests, plantations and across industries, which allowed her to meet many people who were involved in caring for ecosystems.
In 2008 and 2009, Laura participated in an exchange of experience in Oaxaca, Michoacán and Durango that involved certified clients from different states on the Mexican Republic. In 2013, she also took part in capacity building workshops of ejidos, communities and companies, focused on issues of brand use made in cities such as Puebla and Jalisco, in coordination with the Forest Stewardship Council™ (FSC™) and Reforestamos Mexico.
In the same year, she joined the Sustainable Tourism certification team as a Certification Services Coordinator. She participated in the restructuring of the service, in the recognition of clients. In the first certification workshop for sustainable tourism for Mesoamerica that took place in the same year in Mexico City, the workshop enabled her to obtain the accreditation as an auditor for this certification service.
Laura was the main contact throughout the process that led to the signing of a collaboration agreement between the Rainforest Alliance and the Secretaria de Turismo Federal for the emission of the Distintivo S in Mexico. Between 2014 and 2015, Laura participated in numerous forums relating to Sustainable Tourism initiatives at various universities, private and government institutions.
Laura joined Preferred by Nature in 2019. In her current role Laura continues to handle the tourism certification processes in Mexico. She is also in-charge of searching for new markets to connect more people to Sustainable Tourism certification. Throughout her career, she has participated in approximately 40 on-site audits and in more than 100 follow-up processes for various tourism certified companies.
"The most important thing for me is to be happy, doing things that let me be part of a change, leaving a positive footprint for next generations."
- BSc in Business Administration
- Master's Degree in Administration
- Lead Auditor for tourism certification
- Spoken languages: Spanish and English
