Martin Goebel

Baja Regional Director
LegacyWorks Group

Martin has nearly 35 years experience in natural resources management and sustainable development. Between 1983-1986 he was assistant director for science and director for conservation planning at The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and Conservation International (CI), and subsequently director for Mexico for TNC, CI and World Wildlife Fund. From 1994-2013 Martin was the founding president of Sustainable Northwest based in Portland, Oregon.

Martin was critical to successful campaign and stakeholder negotiations for the upcoming removal of four dams on the Klamath River, the largest dam removal project in history. More than 400 miles of the Klamath River system that have been blocked for a century will open up for people and wildlife. Federal officials, the states of Oregon and California, and the utility PacifiCorp signed a pair of agreements opening the way for removal of four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River, which flows from Oregon through Northern California.

With Global Conservation, Martin has been instrumental in helping grow our Baja Sur Marine Protection work in Cabo Pulmo and Loreto marine protected areas in Mexico, part of the Sea of Cortes UNESCO World Heritage.

Martin helped found the Oregon Sustainability Board and has served as trustee of several foundations including The Summit Foundation and The Compton Foundation. Currently, Martin serves as trustee of the Fondo Mexicano para la Conservacion de la Naturaleza (which he founded), the Meso-American Reef Fund, Sustainable Northwest Wood, Inc, and co-chair of the Advisory board of Aclima, an environmental intelligence/sensor science company.

In 2013 Martin founded Moebius Partners LLC, a consultancy specializing in advising philanthropies, non-profits and triple-bottom line private sector companies. Among his recent clients are the Center for Renewable Energy and Environmental Quality in La Paz, Mexico, the Harry & Leona Helmsley Charitable Trust, International Community Foundation, and California Environmental Associates. He also served as co-chair of the Oregon Sustainability Board and Western Juniper Working Group appointed by the Governor Ted Kulongoski of Oregon.

Martin has lived in Portland since 1994. He was born and raised in Mexico in a tri-cultural family. He travels frequently, mostly in the US, Mexico and Latin America. His hobbies are scuba diving and fly-fishing.