A skilled negotiator and tenacious corporate lawyer at Linklaters for more than 25 years, Olivia attended the Paris Climate Change Summit in 2015 — and her life changed. Partnering with renowned National Geographic photographer (and past EG presenter) Chris Rainier, she joined the Cultural Sanctuaries Foundation as Director and COO, working to sustain biodiversity by nurturing indigenous cultural communities.
"We are at a crucial crossroads of human history. We are losing traditional cultures with their ancient ways of life and spiritual beliefs at catastrophic rates."
— Chris Rainier
Chris Rainier is considered one of the leading documentary photographers working today. His mysterious images of sacred places and indigenous peoples of the planet have been seen in the leading publications of the day including: TIME, Life, National Geographic publications, Outside, Conde Nast Traveler, The New York Times, Smithsonian, The New Yorker, and the publications of the International Red Cross, The United Nations, and Amnesty International.
Think of it this way. For more than a century, when national parks were established, indigenous communities were more or less evicted. Shouldn’t those cultures and communities be at the heart of these places? After all, indigenous cultures have coevolved in these environments for thousands of years, and nobody has a more profound stake in their ongoing stewardship. That's the thesis that Olivia and Chris are working to prove, by supporting ancient cultures to nurture natural ecosystems for the future.
