Steve Patriarco

Steven is currently a Senior Manager at the Forest Trust in Jakarta, Indonesia. Steven graduated with a joint MBA and Master of Environmental Management (MEM) from Yale University in 2018. He is interested in sustainable development issues in Southeast Asia and Latin America, with a particular emphasis on the role that the private sector can play in advancing sound land management practices and policies that facilitate inclusive economic growth and safeguard the ecological integrity of tropical ecosystems.

“Steven worked for The Forest Trust (TFT) in Jakarta, Indonesia, where he partnered with leading firms to develop and implement strategic work plans that advance the production and procurement of more sustainably produced commodities while conserving and protecting valuable forest and community areas. At TFT, Steven played a critical role in managing the industry-supported study of Indonesia’s historic 2015 fire & haze disaster. The recommendations of Steven’s cross-functional Indonesian team – which included experts in plantation operations, policy and governance, community engagement, and GIS and remote sensing – were adopted by a leading firm representing 10% of global palm oil production and are currently being implemented with a vital at-risk supplier.”

Prior to Yale, Steven worked in various capacities in Indonesia and Southeast Asia since 2011, including as a Fulbright research scholar examining community livelihoods and rural development programs near critical Bornean orangutan habitat in West Kalimantan, as a team leader for reforestation, illegal logging monitoring, and environmental education initiatives, as the Co-Founder and Chief Sustainability Officer of a sustainable aquaculture firm, and as a private fundraiser for the development of Great Ape rescue and rehabilitation centers.  

Steven graduated from Brandeis University with a B.S. in Biology. At Brandeis he was the primary caretaker and research assistant for the late Alex, an African Grey parrot who was the subject of a groundbreaking 30-year study into avian cognition.  Steven is an avid hiker, musician, and permaculture practitioner.