A lifelong explorer, Mark Gruin has dedicated more than 30 years to international conservation and sustainable development. He has worked, lived and traveled in more than 40 countries, helping a wide range of local and international non-governmental organizations create, develop and implement sustainable development strategies that integrate preserving biodiversity and threatened habitats with creating economic and humanitarian benefits to local communities.

His career has been characterized by committed early involvement, working on the ground in early stages of difficult projects to find ways to quickly address immediate needs, while establishing a foundation for lasting and sustainable impact and increased local capacity. An inveterate wanderer and wonderer, working in remote places with little infrastructure and pressing needs has been the norm, including many projects throughout South and Central America and the Caribbean, the Russian Far East, sub-Saharan and the Horn of Africa, North America, Europe and the Caucasus.