Michael Alderson

Director - Outreach & International Operations

michael.alderson@ecoswell.org

Winner of the ‘Pride of Newcastle Alumni Achievement Award for International Impact’ and selected as the Americas representative, and global finalist, in the category of ‘Social Impact’ for the British Council’s Alumni Awards, Michael is our Director of Outreach and International Operations. He has +10 years experience in the NGO sector and six years experience working in the UK’s private sector, focusing on sustainable development with an emphasis on international sustainability standards, energy and smart cities. He’s conducted projects in the UK, Peru, the EU, West and East Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. He currently focuses on outreach, business development and the growth of our organisation. Whilst in Lobitos, he also submerges himself in our projects. Michael holds a BSc (Honours) in Environmental Sciences and a MSc in Environmental Engineering. He teaches Environmental Leadership at the Masters level in the Universidad Científica del Sur (Peru).

Diego Almendrades

Director - Sustainable Development & Finance

diego.almendrades@ecoswell.org

Diego is a versatile engineer, social entrepreneur and promoter of sustainable development and holistic management. He has strong proven managerial skills with a progressive and creative mind-set for innovation in international development. He has extensive experience in creating, implementing and managing projects of triple-return (social, environmental and economic) alongside communities. Apart from the organization’s finances, he is in charge of developing the strategic planning with regards to our water, ecotourism, reforestation and ecological restoration projects, as well as building shared-value partnerships with key local, national and international stakeholders. In his free time in Lobitos he loves to search for secret wave spots to surf and to explore and enjoy the hidden gems of the very special and unique coastal Dry Forest ecosystem. Diego holds a BSc in Industrial Engineering and 9 years of professional experience in sustainable development.

Andres Bustamante

Director - Marketing & Renewable Energy

andres.bustamante@ecoswell.org

Andres is a passionate and value driven social entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience in marketing and international development. He started his career in Toronto, Canada in experiential marketing and later transitioned into tech sales with Oracle and Salesforce. After returning to Peru in 2012 he started a small digital marketing firm and soon after co-founded EcoSwell. He leads the organization's marketing strategy and digital systems, renewable energy projects and legal/administrative compliance. His natural ability to connect with people has also been instrumental in the organization's strong community and corporate relations. Outside of work Andres enjoys surfing, traveling, Jiu Jitsu, reading and baking desserts. Andres holds a BComm in Marketing and International Business. 

Alejandro Pizarro

Director - research & communications

alejandro.pizarro@ecoswell.org

Political scientist specialized in Social Research and Sustainable Local Development. In the last 10 years, he has led social research related to corporate reputation, public opinion and social program evaluation for the extractive sector, public institutions, international cooperation, academia and civil organizations in the 24 regions of Peru. Organisations that he has worked for include, but are not limited to: Ipsos, PNUD, GiZ, OIT, MINEDU, MINJUS, SERVIR, among others.

From the start Alejandro led the charge of the organization's social evaluations and community relations in order to understand the local reality and generate a healthy relationship with the beneficiary populations of our projects. In recent years, he ventured into promotional marketing and communication strategies, a topic that is strengthened by his knowledge of social reality and public opinion. Alejandro holds a BA in Political Sciences.

Sergio Cueva

Legal advisor

sergio.cueva@ecoswell.org

Sergio holds a bachelor’s degree in Law (Universidad Católica del Perú). He also holds a master’s degree in Natural Resources Law (University of Denver, US) and an MBA (University of Cambridge, UK). A practicing attorney, Sergio works in the private sector as specialises in corporate and contracts law, with an emphasis on the natural resources industries. He also has significant experience in environmental and social matters and has been active in pro bono work. He is also a law lecturer and has authored scholarly legal papers. At Ecoswell, he helps with corporate and legal affairs, including organisational and governance matters, contracts, policies and regulatory matters.

Gladys Purizaca

Accounting and Financial Administration

gladys.purizaca@ecoswell.org

Gladys is a Public Accountant, specialized in Tax Law. She has ample professional experience in both the public and private sector. She has been working with EcoSwell since 2017 and in 2022 has joined the team as a full time member. She manages the monthly and annual financial and accounting reports, both internally in EcoSwell and with Peruvian Government institutions. On a day to day basis she manages the registry of the organizations income and expenses, executes all bank transfers, ensures financial compliance and keeps the administrative and project operations informed and up to date.

Sakthy Selvakumaran

Trustee

sakthy.selvakumaran@ecoswell.org

Sakthy Selvakumaran is a Chartered Civil Engineer who has worked across different countries and cultures in design, contracting and international development roles. These roles include designing new structures on mega-projects like the Crossrail underground line in London, assessment to upgrade ageing infrastructure assets, and working on sites to reconstruct housing destroyed by earthquakes in Peru.  She has also worked in industry R&D roles for a construction company, developing new solutions and technologies to change the way infrastructure is designed, constructed and maintained. Her academic research at University of Cambridge applies rapidly advancing radar satellite imagery technologies which can monitor millimetre scale changes on the earth’s surface. This is done to understand how such technologies can support the monitoring of bridge and infrastructure assets and predict signs of failure and collapses. She is now leading a new research group within Cambridge Engineering Department and is the Co-Founder and CEO of a software start-up. Her achievements include being named on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe List, the Financial Times Top 100 Women in UK Engineering list, serving as an ICE President’s Apprentice and being appointed to the Young Professionals Panel of the National Infrastructure Commission in the UK.

Edward Beardsmore

Trustee

Holder of a Masters degree in Mechanical engineering from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Edward worked as a consultant engineer in the Power sector between 2009 and 2015 on large and small scale projects. During that time, he was involved in a wide range of conventional and renewable power generation projects across various locations including Portugal, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

In 2015 Edward made the leap into the software industry where he has helped grow a small software studio of 12 people into a team of more than 100. He is currently the Chief Operating officer of the company which operates across the globe with clients such as Facebook and Google.

Edward became involved in EcoSwell through his friendship with Michael (the two met at University). He has been involved since the fruition of the UK branch and continues to volunteer his time as a Trustee. He is also a keen world traveler and surfer.  

Alexandru Mardan

Trustee

Alex is a passionate advocate for the benefits that outdoors physical activities and exercise have on people’s psychological and physical wellbeing. Having given the chance to get involved in setting up the charity in the UK, he gladly used his experience and knowledge in international sport management to support the governance and the development of the charity. As a trustee, Alex continues to take part in a variety of activities aimed at promoting the volunteer programme, while looking for opportunities to develop working relationships with a variety of partners and stakeholders.

Dr. Martha De La Cruz

Medical Electives/Volunteering Team

Martha is a Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery trainee in Yorkshire, UK. Born in Peru, she moved to the UK to study at Newcastle University where she gained a First class honours degree in Biomedical Sciences. She then qualified as a medical doctor at the University of Leicester. Due to her passion for reconstructive surgery and research she obtained a Distinction in her MSc in Burns, Plastics and Reconstructive Surgery at University College London. Driven by a great interest for Global Health and Surgery, Martha was very excited to become an EcoSwell doctor advisor and she contributed to the development of EcoSwell’s Medical Elective. This programme encourages International medical students and doctors to work with Lobitos and surrounding communities whilst enriching themselves with the beauty of the region. Martha has also organised successful events combining medical education with fundraising for EcoSwell. She is working towards becoming a Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon and she is determined to use these skills in Global Surgery. Martha’s long term goal is to continue supporting the healthcare of communities with limited resources.

Henry Suarez

Marketing and Communications Coordinator

Henry.Suarez@ecoswell.org

After interning with us in January 2022, Henry became an EcoSwell Ambassador at Colby College and helped plant seeds for important relationships that paved the way for volunteers and ambassadors for years to come. Since then, he graduated from Colby in 2023 with a major in psychology and minor in creative writing, and he started working as our Marketing and Communications Coordinator starting fall of that year. He has also worked in Public Relations in his hometown of Los Angeles, California, so his background brings a diverse skillset to our communications team. His passion for writing and bilingual abilities have helped us with our marketing initiatives and campaigns, and he works to build relationships and secure partnerships around the globe. His love for surfing and the town of Lobitos motivate him to do everything he can to promote sustainable development in Northern Peru.