Mark S. Freudenberger, former Chief of Party for USAID’s Property Rights and Resource Governance project, is a leader in the field of global climate change, deforestation, and land use with over 30 years of experience designing, implementing, evaluating, and providing strategic direction to natural resource programs across the Global South. Throughout his career, Freudenberger has provided significant thought leadership around community resource governance and vulnerable peoples’ inclusion in global and national climate and land use agendas, publishing significant peer-reviewed publications directed to governments, multilateral institutions, leading NGOs, and the private sector. Skilled as a convener of policymaking forums that bridge the gap between rural peoples and national and international policymakers, he has contributed to significant policy and legal reforms on resource tenure throughout his career. As a veteran manager skilled in the use of participatory rural research, he has overseen dispersed teams across multiple continents, coordinated grantmaking to local NGOs and technical partners, and implemented USAID, European Union, World Bank, and foundation-funded projects in politically challenging contexts.
