Daniel is a global climate actor and promoter of sustainability strategies. He is best known for his thought leadership on Voluntary Carbon Markets, Bioeconomy, Sustainable Finance, and Public Policy Coherence.He is currently the MSU Forest Carbon and Climate Program.Daniel led the design, incubation, and launch of the Partnership for Agricultural Carbon jointly with IICA and VCMI intending to accelerate access strategies to private finance through high-integrity voluntary carbon markets in Latin American and the CaribbeanDaniel co-founded the Sustainable Finance Initiative, a public-private-academia collaborative platform in Ecuador for promoting the transformational role that impact investment and finance can play in catalyzing the economic transition to sustainability and resilience. Prior to joining the IC-VCM and FCCP, Daniel served as Minister of Environment, and Undersecretary-General for Political Affairs of Ecuador. He has also served on the board of the Global Environmental Facility, UN Clean Development Mechanism and IRENA and Director of the Center for Public Policy Development at ESPOL Polytechnic University.Daniel also founded BIOCARBON, a sustainable solutions consulting firm. BIOCARBON helps develop social and environmental impact strategies for financial institutions, corporations, and nonprofit organizations. Ortega also co-founded the Estero Salado Waterkeeper, a nonprofit dedicated to improving waterways integrity.He graduated with honors from EARTH University, Michigan State University, and the Glenn College at the Ohio State University.