About Tima

I was born in Mexico, to Finnish parents, and raised on five continents. My upbringing led me to work in environmental justice and human rights. I have professional experience in more than twenty-five countries, immersing myself in, and engaging with, Indigenous peoples and local communities, along with their knowledge systems, cultures and practices. Frustrated with the mainstream doom-and-gloom narrative, I trained myself in permaculture and ecovillage design, and in trying to understand global processes towards sustainability, I was drawn to research the nuances and universalities in cross-cultural human-nature relations. I have worked in academia for over 25 years, including with national governments, NGOs, and inter-ministerial policy groups evaluating international cooperation projects worldwide. I am fluent in English, Finnish, Swedish, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian and Catalan.

I a fifth-generation Californian who grew up on the Pacific Coast of the United States. I was raised by academic researchers who studied chimpanzee -- human sign language communication. My upbringing was steeped in volunteerism, activism and social good, with a deep and abiding respect for nature, Indigenous wisdom, and the interdependence and welfare of all beings. These foundational experiences shaped my life and led me on a professional journey that includes working as a social impact entrepreneur, and holding executive positions in philanthropy, nonprofits, government, academia, media, ethical Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the arts. My professional focus includes cultural relations, social and environmental justice, mental health, traditional knowledge, and ethical uses of technology. I launch organizations and companies, connect people and cultures in meaningful ways, and help companies do good and well. I am fluent in English and Brazilian Portuguese.