Candace Vinke

Candace is the Senior Director of Nature-based Innovation. She is responsible for identifying and conceptualizing new standards, tools, and programs in support of nature-based solutions (NBS).

Candace has an extensive and diverse background in environmental markets, sustainability, poverty, and inequality. Prior to joining Verra, she was the Sustainable Development Director at Viresco Solutions, where she managed consulting contracts focused on natural climate solutions, led Viresco’s efforts to expand internationally, and supported business operations. As the Sustainable Development Director, she also advised governments across Canada on their carbon policy and guided several multinational corporations in their emissions management strategies. Much of her work at Viresco was centered around carbon insetting, scope 3 reductions, and agricultural supply chain sustainability.

Prior to her position at Viresco, Candace was the Manager of Agriculture and Social Projects at The Prasino Group. Here, she led a small team of sustainability professionals working on agricultural offset protocol development, greenhouse gas emission reduction quantification, and environmental market policy development. Previously, Candace also worked as a Research Fellow with the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF)/International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) where she helped create a geographic information system mapping the distribution of agroforestry tree species in the Amazon.

Candace holds a Master of Arts in Geography from the University of Victoria and a Bachelor of Science in Geography from the University of Calgary. Candace is based in Calgary, Canada.