Karen Mapusua is President of IFOAM-Organics International, the global umbrella body for the organic agriculture movement. She also serves as Director of the Land Resources Division of the Pacific Community which provides technical and scientific support the Pacific Island countries & territories on all aspects of agriculture and forestry.

She has experience in NGO capacity building and management and has worked in rural development in the Pacific Region for close to 26 years with a focus on organic agriculture as a path to social and economic development. She was the first coordinator of Pacific Organic & Ethical Trade Community (POETCom) where she served for 5 years. During this time, she was extensively involved in implementing the Pacific Organic Standard and Guarantee Scheme, building tools to support organic policy development and establishing alternative forms of certification that empower farmers.

Karen has been extensively involved in promoting Pacific food systems for improved health, nutrition and resilience outcomes and has been active promoting the economic empowerment of women through agricultural value chains. She also supports Pacific nations negotiate the agriculture workstream in the UNFCCC process.

Karen has previously served on the Board of Directors of Fairtrade Australia New Zealand. She is a national of Samoa and Australia.