Built from the frontlines of Amazon protection
Decades of frontline conservation have protected vast areas of the Northern Amazon and built a lasting environmental legacy.
At the forefront of that work is the Von Hildebrand family, whose commitment to Amazon protection spans more than three generations and five decades. Martín von Hildebrand helped shape that legacy through his work on Indigenous rights and rainforest protection, later founding Gaia Amazonas, Colombia’s leading Amazon NGO, and receiving the Right Livelihood Award - the “Alternative Nobel Prize”.
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That work is now led by Francis “Pacho” von Hildebrand, who has spent more than a decade at the helm of Gaia and decades building deep frontline relationships across Indigenous governance and Amazon protection.
Pacho’s leadership and Gaia’s institutional depth bring rare insight into which organisations deliver, which partnerships hold and where funding is best placed.
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From that vantage point, they identified three structural gaps holding back the next stage of Amazon protection:
Global advocacy,
Private and financial sector connection
Capital reaching frontline impact
Airios was created from that leadership - to close those gaps and connect global capital with the proven frontline leaders already protecting the Amazon.
Francisco "Pacho" Von Hildebrand
President & CEO.
A Colombian environmental leader with decades of frontline experience, Pacho is President of Gaia Amazonas, Colombia’s leading Amazon NGO. Under his 12-year leadership, Gaia has advanced Indigenous governance and rainforest protection across vast areas of the Colombian Amazon.
A third-generation leader dedicated to the Amazon and Indigenous rights, Pacho combines that family legacy with decades of his own frontline expertise, relationships and leadership.
That experience also gave Pacho a clear view of the structural barriers holding back the next stage of Amazon protection - insight that helped shape the creation and mission of Airios.
At Airios, Pacho leads strategy, fundraising and capital mobilisation, and relationships with donors, governments and partners.
Founding Executive Team
Alejandro Calderon
Treasurer & Financial Innovations Officer.
Alejandro has 25+ years of experience across the banking sector, impact ventures and financial innovation, including senior roles at J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley. At Airios, he oversees financial stewardship and leads financial innovation, including Donor-Advised Funds, Environmental Impact Bonds, new capital structures and the recognition of nature as an asset class.
John Rash
Secretary & Communications Officer.
John’s 30+ year international career spans communications, marketing and strategy across consumer, entertainment and nonprofit sectors. Among them: senior positions at world-leading advertising agencies BBDO, JWT and Leo Burnett; Global Culture Strategy Director at Bacardi Global Brands; and VP of Consumer Engagement at XPRIZE Foundation. At Airios, he leads strategic planning, institutional development, branding and communications.
Our Foundational Network
Airios’s mandate extends across the Amazon, supported by a foundational network of frontline institutions, regional leadership and conservation expertise.
Protecting the Amazon through Indigenous stewardship.
For more than 30 years, Gaia Amazonas has worked alongside Indigenous communities across the Colombian Amazon to secure territorial rights, strengthen Indigenous governance and protect vast areas of connected rainforest. Its work extends across more than 25m hectares of Indigenous territories and has helped establish 14 Indigenous Councils formally recognised as governing bodies in Colombia.
Martín von Hildebrand
Founder, Gaia Amazonas & Secretary-General, ACTO
Martín von Hildebrand has spent more than 50 years advancing Indigenous rights and rainforest protection. As Head of Indigenous Affairs for the Colombian government, he helped secure more than 20 million hectares of Amazon rainforest as collective Indigenous territory before founding Gaia Amazonas. A recipient of the Right Livelihood Award, Martín is now Secretary-General of ACTO, the intergovernmental organisation representing the eight Amazon countries.
Uniting regional conservation leadership across the Northern Amazon.
The North Amazon Alliance brings together nine organisations across Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela to protect the ecological, social and cultural connectivity of the Northern Amazon. Its regional agenda spans more than 45 million hectares of strategically important Amazon territory.
Governance
Airios Foundation is an independent U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit, governed by formal bylaws establishing clear fiduciary responsibilities and financial controls.