Joko Arif is an economist by training, but somewhere along the way, forests and climate stole the show. For the past 18 years, his career has been defined by linking climate and forest protection—a perspective forged through stints in research, activism, corporate sustainability, and large-scale philanthropy. He joins Rainforest Trust as Director of Asia-Pacific Conservation, bringing this unique lens to protecting critical tropical forest landscapes.

Born and raised in Indonesia, Joko started as a journalist before diving into research and then landing on the frontlines of advocacy as a Forest Campaigner for Greenpeace Southeast Asia. There, he helped run global campaigns targeting corporations over commodity-led deforestation—learning early on that a well-placed campaign can make even the biggest companies squirm. This experience led him to the other side of the table as Sustainability Manager at Carrefour Indonesia, where he represented the retailer on the Board of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and launched the country’s first RSPO-certified consumer product. (Yes, he’s been called a “tree-hugger in a suit” on more than one occasion.)

Seeking to build impactful solutions at scale, Joko moved into non-profit leadership as Managing Director at Inobu (now Kaleka), the time where the organization grew from 7 to 35 staff and tripled its annual budget. His work there, alongside the Earth Innovation Institute, focused on locally-led green development and jurisdictional approaches in Indonesia and Brazil.

For eight years until the mid of 2025, Joko worked in climate philanthropy. At The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, he led grant-making for one of the climate strategies and later served as Interim Director for the Global Climate Initiative, overseeing the grant making portfolio globally. In these roles, Joko represented The Packard Foundation in collaborating with major funding collaboratives, including the Climate and Land Use Alliance (CLUA) and the Forest People Climate (FPC), as well as with other philanthropic funders on the climate and forest nexus.

Joko holds a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Indonesia and a Professional Certificate from the Stanford Graduate School of Business LEAD Executive Program. When he’s not wandering about ways to protect forest you’ll likely find him in the kitchen perfecting his latest Indonesian recipe, deep in a cat video rabbit hole, or cheering for Liverpool Football Club. He is based in the Netherlands, where he remains hopeful that one day the Dutch will appreciate a good nasi goreng as much as he does.