Douglas Trent, President of the Focus Conservation Fund, lived in Brazil for nearly 11 years, and has been operating and guiding natural history tours in South America for over 20 years. His friendship with local people throughout Brazil goes back to the early 1980's. They are based on trust and respect. By using tourism to raise money for conservation work, he has earned the respect of the international scientific and conservation community, including political entities in Brazil and other South American countries. He speaks fluent Portuguese, and thoroughly understands what it takes to get things done in Brazil.