Baptiste studied biology at the Pontifical Xavierian University, where she graduated with a thesis on the ecology of fishing in Araracuara, Amazon. As a Fulbright Scholar from 1992 to 1994, she completed a master's degree in tropical conservation and development studies at the University of Florida. Her thesis focused on forest management by rural communities in Boyacá Andes, Colombia. She continued her graduate studies as part of the Russell Train Program of the World Wildlife Fund at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, where she obtained a PhD in Environmental Sciences in 2000. Her dissertation is entitled, "The concept of main ecological structure and its potential as environmental management tool for biodiversity".
Professional life
Brigitte Baptiste has had a long career in both nonprofit and academic spheres. As a student in 1982, she co-founded the environmental nonprofit Corporación Grupo Ecológico GEA, which she would later serve as director from 1984 to 1991. From 1991 to 1996, she served as a professor in the Institute of Environmental Studies and Development at Pontifical University, during which she edited Ambiente y Desarrollo. After 1996, she coordinated the Program for Biodiversity Use and Valuation at the Humboldt Institute and consulted for numerous nonprofits, including WWF Colombia. She returned to Pontifical University from 2002 to 2009 to teach and research as an assistant professor. She served as the director of the Humboldt Institute from 2011 to 2019. As director, Baptiste represented Colombia's scientific authority to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and Subsidiary Body of Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice. She serves on the Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services as a member of its Global Panel of 25 experts on behalf of Latin America and the Caribbean. There, she co-chairs working groups on Indigenous and Local Knowledge, as well as on Policy Tools and Methodologies. She is also a member of the IAI's Science PolicyAdvisory Committee and the scientific committee of the global program PECS. She was a prominent voice advocating for a peace deal in the Colombian Civil War. Baptiste became director of Universidad Ean in September 2019. In addition to her academic pursuits, Brigitte Baptiste was featured in an episode of "Taboo" by National Geographic Latin America. She is also a columnist in the economic newspaper La República.
Personal life
Baptiste is married to Adriana Vásquez. Together they have two daughters, Candelaria and Juana Pasión.
