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Laura Fernandez

May 10, 2022

Laura is a Latina immigrant from Colombia, passionate about grassroots work to support communities and the environment. She manages resource mobilization and networking for Prize winners, and coordinates Prize winner security and defense. Laura has worked internationally and has extensive climate and environmental nonprofit experience in philanthropy and civil society advocacy spaces. Prior to joining the Prize, Laura was a program officer at the Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment, where she helped facilitate millions of dollars in grants for water protection, community stewardship, and environmental justice across California and the Pacific Northwest. Laura holds two bachelor’s degrees, in Geography and International Relations, and did graduate studies in international development and sustainability at the Graduate Institute in Geneva, Switzerland. She joined the Prize in 2022.

Recent Posts

Two Days on the Mekong River in Thailand: A Report from the Field


November 18, 2025 – By Laura Fernandez

This fall, Goldman Environmental Prize Program Manager Laura Fernandez had the opportunity to visit Niwat Roykaew and Tuenjai Deetes, Goldman Prize winners from Thailand from 2022 and 1994, respectively. The following is a guest post about her experience. After spending three days in Chiang Mai, Thailand, attending the Asia Environmental Human Rights Defenders Forum, I…

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Prize Winners Today: Defending Vulnerable Ecosystems with Cath Wallace


October 21, 2025

For 73-year-old Cath Wallace, environmental activism is a lifelong pursuit. Her drive to protect the planet’s most fragile ecosystems is inherent to her identity. A former economics and public policy academic at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, Cath turned to activism in the mid 1970s. Since then, she has dedicated her life to reducing environmental harm and educating others about what we owe the Earth.  Cath’s tireless advocacy for Antarctica, carried out in lockstep…

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Prize Winners Today: Protecting Costa Rica’s Shark Biodiversity with Randall Arauz


September 17, 2025 – By Paige Smith

Randall Arauz knows what it takes to move the needle on marine conservation: a combination of effective policy change, shifting public opinion, and persistence. Randall, a passionate and seasoned conservationist famous for fighting against shark finning, has been advocating for critically endangered sea turtles and sharks—and improving Costa Rica’s environmental laws—for over 30 years.   We…

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