Rosa Montañez brings more than 25 years of experience in the environmental sector, with active participation in a range of coordination platforms, networks, and international agreements, including the UN Climate Change Convention, the Ramsar Convention, and the Convention on Migratory Species, among others. Since 2011, she has served as Executive Director of the Foundation for the Conservation of Natural Resources (Fundación Natura).

She is a member of the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Environmental Funds (RedLAC), which she chaired from 2015 to 2019. She is also a founding member of Fundación PACIFICO, where she served as President from 2020 to 2024, and a member of the Coordinating Committee of the Community of Practice for Direct Access Entities to the Adaptation Fund and the Green Climate Fund.

At the national level, she is a member of the Interinstitutional Commission of the Watershed (CICH). She led the establishment and direction of the Ramsar Regional Center for Training and Research on Wetlands for the Western Hemisphere (CREHO). She has also served as a leader at Fundación Avina and as an associate expert with UNDP.

She holds a law degree in Law and Political Science from the University of Panama and a Master’s degree in Environmental Management. She also has specialized training in protected area planning and nonprofit management from Tecnológico de Monterrey, as well as studies in innovation leadership from MIT.