Peter May graduated in Human Ecology from the Evergreen State College in 1974, and received his master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning in 1979 and his PhD in Natural Resource Economics in 1986, both from Cornell University. For the past 30 years, Peter has been teaching, researching and providing policy advice to governments and civil society organizations in Brazil and other developing countries on natural resource management, emphasizing forest conservation, management and restoration, and the valuation of ecosystem services. Currently, he is a Visiting Scholar at the Columbia University Center for Sustainable Development, on leave from his post as Full Professor in the Department of Development, Agriculture and Society at the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro. He was founder and President of the Brazilian Society for Ecological Economics-ECOECO, and President of the International Society for Ecological Economics-ISEE. He has also served as Program Officer at the Ford Foundation and Forest Officer at the FAO.
