Claudia Martínez Zuleta is bringing together leaders in finance, agriculture, and climate change to fuel economic growth while also meeting the challenge of sustainable development.
Colombia, the fourth largest country in South America, unites an array of disparate ecosystems within its borders, from tropical lowlands to Andean highland and Amazonian jungle to Orinoquia grasslands. As its economy grows, it is at a crossroads between development and conservation.
Claudia Martínez Zuleta ’89 MES is forging a coalition across sectors, disciplines, and locales to meet the challenge. With more than three decades of experience in sustainable development, finance, and climate change, she is working to seed regenerative food systems, increase access to local and global markets, reduce inequality between urban and rural areas, create better jobs, and fuel economic growth in Colombia and beyond.
“We’re the second most diverse country in the world and we have a lot of opportunities. We have 50 million people. On one hand, we have a jewel,” said Martínez, a Colombia native. “However, we also have conflict.”
Martínez’s advisory firm, E3 — Ecology, Economics and Ethics, is managing the Food and Land Use Coalition (FOLU) in Colombia to transform food systems into engines of growth and development, foster conservation and restoration, support regenerative agriculture, promote equitable markets, improve healthy diets and nutrition, and avoid food waste.
Her work has earned her the Yale School of the Environment’s Distinguished Alumni Award, which honors the achievements of YSE graduates who have made significant contributions to the field of conservation, environmental science, and management.
Martínez studied business administration at Los Andes University, and then pursued her environmental interests at YSE. She credits YSE with giving her a broader view of the natural world, which she sees as encompassing the environment, development, and economies.
After earning her master’s degrees at YSE, Martínez joined the Latin American Bureau of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in New York. “I wanted to work for the UN because I wanted to save the world,” she said. “I’ve always had one foot in Colombia, and one foot outside Colombia.”
In 1994, Martínez returned to Colombia and led the Office for Sustainable Development at the Latin American Development Bank (CAF). She later served as Colombia's deputy minister of environment, where she brought together 33 regional environmental corporations and five research institutions to work toward a unified vision to protect ecosystems, water, and biodiversity, and promote climate resilience. Martínez later returned to CAF, and created a vice-presidency role focusing on social and environmental issues and small and medium enterprises.
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“Claudia is one of the true champions for nature and sustainability in Colombia. She has an amazing ability to listen, learn, and connect people and ideas,” said Cristián Samper, managing director at the Bezos Earth Fund. “She has done this as vice-minister of the environment, with her work at CAF and more recently with FOLU. She has had a big impact in Colombia and beyond, and the world is better as a result.”
Martínez said that while it is challenging to navigate Colombia’s diverse landscapes, complex economies, and divided rural and urban communities, embracing complexity and navigating varied terrain is second nature to her. Her leadership on the national and international stage has only strengthened her conviction that the most impactful change happens when communities are active participants in shaping their future, she said.
“We need to understand that issues need a bottom-up approach when we’re working on peace and development and when we are working on new economies,” she said.
Martínez noted that her work on food systems is an example of bottom-up approaches that are critical to promoting community input on climate resilience, thriving ecosystems, and just economies.
“Food systems have been an effective tool to bring together communities that historically have lived in conflict,” she said. “When communities end up cooking and eating at the same table using their local biodiversity, there is a strong connection to their land, ecosystems, and their common well-being, opening opportunities for peace and prosperity.”
