Since joining Burness in 2013, Wanda has led groundbreaking communications activities on behalf of Indigenous People on land rights, forests and biodiversity protection that have helped propel their voice to global prominence. She has carried out these activities through her strategic communications support to a large network of grantees of the Ford Foundation. 

She is a sought-after global media expert by research organizations and environmental advocacy groups. Fluent in Spanish and Portuguese, Wanda has organized and staffed press events in Mexico City, Mexico; Flores and Guatemala City, Guatemala; Lima, Peru; Bogota, Colombia; Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, Brazil; Amsterdam, The Netherlands; London, United Kingdom; Glasgow, Scotland; Bonn, Germany; Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt; Dubai, Qatar; Bali and Jakarta, Indonesia; San Francisco; New York; and Washington, D.C. 

Wanda is skilled at crafting narratives for journalist site visits that combine science and storytelling to advance clients’ strategic goals, often in collaboration with Indigenous and local communities. She has helped organize and lead more than a dozen journalist site visits throughout Mesoamerica, the Amazon, Scotland and Indonesia. 

She is a talented media trainer and leads media promotions in global tobacco control, agriculture and food systems, forestry and the environment. 

Wanda is a 2013 graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service with a degree in International Politics and a concentration in International Law. In her spare time, she supports Identity, a non-profit organization that creates opportunities for Latino and other historically underserved youth in Montgomery County, Maryland. A native of the Dominican Republic, she enjoys Latin dancing and spending time with friends and family.