John D. Claussen is the Managing Director and a co-founder of CCIF and plays a key role in the day-to-day design, guidance and implementation of CCIF’s management, programmatic, and funding efforts. Based in Indonesia, he is also a Partner with Starling Resources; a sustainability consulting practice in Indonesia.
John focuses on the design and implementation of projects and programs in the areas of conservation finance and community development - developing tools and practices for financing and managing protected area systems; assessing and testing microfinance-driven conservation solutions; and supporting the design of well managed and focused conservation trust funds. He is an advisor to a number of private Foundations on their conservation programs and is also an adviser to a number of private sector firms in Asia. Previously, John spent more than a decade in the private sector, designing and implementing environmental and efficiency initiatives for a wide variety of industries in North America and Asia.
Throughout his career he has focused on delivering rational, common sense solutions to a broad array of environmental challenges, including: designing business models joining productivity and profit with pollution prevention and chemical use reduction; developing long term financial management analysis and tools to ensure that conservation investments result in the greatest returns possible; and, leading microfinance initiatives for fishermen and farmers to provide business skills and financial resources needed to participate in truly sustainable trades. The opportunity to address these kinds of challenges and to work with so many interesting and dedicated people are what motivates John, and are what he finds most rewarding about his work.
John earned a BS degree in Biology from Valparaiso University in Indiana in 1993. When not working or spending time with his family, he enjoys scuba diving, biking, reading, and the occasional game of baseball with the Jimbaran “J’s” Baseball Club in Bali.