Mette Vinqvist
Mette is Head of Project Development, and as such is responsible for the development of Preferred by Nature’s fundraising strategy and consolidation of a robust and varied project and programme portfolio in support of Preferred by Nature’s vision.
As Head of Project Development Mette works to further develop Preferred by Nature’s projects and partnerships into programmes as a motor to expand the impact that Preferred by Nature is able to generate by innovating, testing, implementing and continuously improving those land management and business practices and tools that benefit nature, people and climate. This means staying in close contact with our people on the ground, as well as liaising closely with likeminded donors and partners.
Mette’s long and varied past experience includes 15+ years with her own consultancy company; 8 years of running her own fairtrade import/Danish Design company, Just Business, doing retail and wholesale; 3 years working for the African Development Bank in Tunisia and Ivory Coast as Chief Programme Officer for the Congo Basin Forest Fund; 3 years with NGO Forests of the World focused on East Africa (Uganda and Ethiopia). Mette lived and worked in Ethiopia recently, and earlier also in Malaysia, where she ran (moved and continued) her own consultancy company on natural resource management and forest certification – working for both public, multilateral, and private clients.
From 1998-2001, Mette was even part of Preferred by Nature’s young team (then NEPCon), developing projects and tenders, as well as performing FSC Forest Management and Chain of Custody certification assessments.
Mette (re)joined Preferred by Nature in 2021.
"During my career, I have worked for a variety of development actors, but by far find the greatest and most immediate impact delivered by NGOs. And Preferred by Nature is the exact right combination of professionalism, ambition and innovation, working with a keen understanding of the importance of markets, private sector and bottom of the pyramid livelihoods to secure responsible, balanced management and conservation of natural resources."
- MSC in biology, PhD in ecosystem services
- Project design, implementation and evaluation
- Entrepreneurship, oddball ideas and business development
- Agroforestry, silvopastoral systems
- FSC FM and CoC auditor (NEPCon/SmartWood and Woodmark)
- Portfolio management
Countries worked in: Ethiopia, Tunisia, Cote d'Ivoire, Uganda, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Egypt, Congo-Brazzaville, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Colombia, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Panama, Nicaragua, Honduras, Bolivia, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Russia, Slovakia, France, Italy.
Languages spoken: Danish, English, Spanish.
