Our Staff
Lina Villa Córdoba | Executive Director 
Lina is a mission-driven entrepreneur working in sustainable development initiatives. Her professional background is in Business and she holds an MA in Governance and Development from the Institute of Development Studies, IDS. Before taking this position in ARM, she co-founded REFLEJARSE, a Sustainability Consultancy where she is still a partner. Lina has always been close to the realities of ASM through her previous work with ARM and by being part of the Oro Verde and Amichoco team between 2003-2009. She likes to think that she is good at addressing complex problems, motivating and inspiring others and facilitating collective work.
Elisa Bravo | Finance and Development
Elisa has a background in Environmental Engineering and is specialized in Natural Resource Management and Conservation. She lived in the US for the decade, where she worked in finance and development with an NGO that works to protect human rights and the environment of indigenous communities in the Amazon, where she became familiar with the impact of extractive industries in Latin America. She has experience in finance, setting up systems and fundraising.
María Eugenia Calderón | General Assistant
Maria Eugenia formed part of the staff of the Swiss Cooperation´s GAMA Project (Environmental Management in Artisanal Mining), which operated in the Mid-South of Peru between 2000 and 2009. The process of formalisation of first artisanal mining enterprises, the management of their regional organisations and above all direct contact with the beneficiaries: miners, pallaqueras women and their communities were for Maria an important and enriching experience. Her academic background is in Social Work and Human Resources. She is convinced that her involvement with ARM is the perfect opportunity to share her knowledge of the ASM sector.
Ronald Köpke | Producer Services Manager
Specialised in Training, Coaching and Corporate Social Responsibility programmes. Since the mid-1990s he has worked as an advisor and auditor for a number of certification systems and joined the realm of Fairtrade 6 years ago. He is the co-editor of the first Fairtrade and Fairmined Standard for Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining. He has experience working in many countries around the world and since 1987 various countries within Latin America. Initially he worked in Rural Community development for refugees and repatriates in Central America; later in consultation and investigation of Free-Trade zones, with a focus on social standards and gender (topics of which he has written several publications).
In addition, Ronald has performed consulting services for the International Cooperation, e.g. in the floriculture industry of Ecuador and Colombia, the production of vegetables and textiles in Peru, etc.
Daniel Lafuente Araníbar | Producer Services Coordinator
Business Administration graduate, specialist in negotiation and managing mining conflicts. Daniel has a vast knowledge about development projects’ elaboration and coordination and he is experienced in research and training focused on improving the social, economic and labour development of the artisanal and small-scale mining in Bolivia and other Latin American countries. In Bolivia he has been coordinating the Fairtrade and Fairmined gold project aimed at certifying the gold produced by small-scale miners.
Marcin Piersiak | Projects
Marcin´s adventure with the responsible ASM started from his involvement with ARM´s support organisation in Colombia, AMICHOCÓ, where he coordinated a newly created Committee for a Responsible Management of Mining Resource in the Chocó Bioregion, a multi-institutional initiative aiming to assist the local organizations in the region in their struggle to preserve their communal territories from the destructive impact of large scale mining projects.
His professional background includes various roles in the social housing sector in England ranging from administration and communication to development projects management. His degree in Economics and MA in International Relations are complemented by courses in Project Management and Renewable Energy. Apart from his native Polish language he speaks English, Spanish, Portuguese and communicates in French.
