The Amazing Women of WMF in the Field

Alessandra Peruzzetto 

Regional Director, Middle East and North Africa  

Since joining WMF in 2006, Alessandra Peruzzetto has overseen an array of projects, from conservation to capacity building and site management.  

An archaeologist specializing in the Middle East and Central Asia, Alessandra was instrumental in securing  UNESCO World Heritage status for the Ancient City of Qalhat and Babylon, and contributed to the development of a Nomination for Erbil Citadel.  She is currently spearheading the restoration of the historic hammam and a heritage building complex in Erbil Citadel, Iraq, one of the longest continuously inhabited sites in the world. She is also working closely with our partners in Yemen to restore the Ta'izz Museum Complex in the Old City of Ta’izz.  

Ginevra Boatto  

Regional Representative for Southeast Asia 

For the past nine years, Ginevra Boatto has coordinated four conservation projects at Angkor Archaeological Park in Cambodia, where WMF has been active for more than thirty years. Working closely with a team of local technicians and conservation specialists, Ginevra is developing WMF’s capacity-building initiatives on site and collaborating with a local university to ensure conservation knowledge is passed on for Angkor’s continued preservation.  

Discover Ginevra's work at the legendary Angkor Archaeological Park in this Heritage from Home virtual tour. 

Phally Cheam

Senior Architect and Project Coordinator, WMF Program in Angkor

Phally Cheam has been part of WMF’s Program at Angkor Archaeological Park since joining our team on-site in 1992.

Phally initially joined WMF as a member of the first class of the newly reopened Royal Academy of Fine Arts after the fall of the Khmer Rouge, supporting our documentation work at Angkor by drawing the existing conditions of its temples. As Senior Architect and Project Coordinator since 2007, Phally today continues to coordinate our work at the Ta Som, Preah Khan, and Phnom Bakheng temples, as well as at the Angkor Wat temple complex at Angkor, alongside Ginevra Boatto.

Stephanie D. Ortiz 

Regional Director of Latin America and the Caribbean 

A member of WMF since 2011, Stephanie Ortiz oversees and directs WMF’s activities in Latin America and the Caribbean. Recently, she has been developing projects in Cuba, Mexico, Chile, and Puerto Rico, focusing on a wide range of preservation activities including training and capacity building, documentation, physical interventions, adaptive reuse, urban regeneration, and advocacy. 

Learn more about the Farnese Aviaries in Rome, one of the projects Stephanie oversaw, in this video. 

Ann Cuss

Regional Director, North America 

Ann Cuss joined World Monuments Fund as Regional Director of North America in 2021. Her work encompasses all aspects of cultural heritage for a variety of public, private, and government partnerships. 
 
Ann’s professional role includes performing on-site condition assessments, hands on-treatments, and training emerging historic preservation professionals. She coordinates multidisciplinary teams of tradespeople, architects, historians, and stakeholders for a holistic preservation approach.

Renata Tavara  

Project Coordinator, WMF Peru  

Renata Tavara joined WMF Peru in 2016 as Assistant to the Executive Director, and today works closely on WMF Peru’s various projects across the country. In close collaboration with WMF headquarters in New York, Renata supports the development of projects at a regional level.  

Teresa Veiga de Macedo

Project Manager, WMF Portugal

Teresa Veiga de Macedo joined WMF’s affiliate in Portugal in 2013, and has since then been responsible for implementing and coordinating projects such as the Jeronimós Monastery Conservation Plan. At Jeronimós Monastery, where WMF has been active since 1999, Teresa is working to implement a 10-phase plan to minimize the risk of deterioration at the monument and ensure a cohesive treatment of the whole site. Scheduled to conclude in 2023, the project requires the close collaboration of a wide range of specialists, including historians, scientists, and conservators.

Amita Baig

Executive Director, WMF India 

Amita Baig has been Executive Director of WMF India for over two decades, during which time she has stewarded the affiliate’s conservation work across the country, including several award-winning projects. With over three decades of experience managing historic sites in India and across Asia, Amita continues to advance WMF’s work at a variety of culturally and architecturally significant sites, including Osmania Women’s College in Hyderabad and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad.  

In 2020, Amita led WMF India’s participation as knowledge partners at in the International Conference on Women in Design in Mumbai. The conference brought together women leaders across design disciplines, showcasing the incredible impact women are making throughout the world.  

Kuanghan Li

Regional Representative, China

Dr. Kuanghan Li joined WMF as Regional Representative for China in October 2023 following the organization’s strategic affiliation with Global Heritage Fund (GHF), where she previously worked. Han has served as a consultant to the Getty Conservation Institute’s China Principles Project and possesses extensive experience with various architectural design and historic preservation projects in the U.S., India, France, Morocco, and China. She is currently also the assistant director of the UNESCO World Heritage Institute of Training and Research for Asia and the Pacific Region.

At WMF, Han is continuing to manage the GHF legacy project of Dali Dong Village, supporting the preservation of not only the local architecture but also traditional textiles. Her work with a local women’s weaving cooperative illustrates the potential of heritage to spur sustainable and inclusive economic development.

Mathilde Augé

Executive Director, WMF France

Mathilde Augé, an art historian, joined WMF in 2023 and now serves as the executive director of WMF France, which relaunched in September of that year. Prior to joining WMF, Mathilde directed the cultural programming at the French Institute Alliance Française In New York, curating programs in performing and visual arts as well as conversations on heritage and preservation.  

In her current position, Mathilde plays a key role in strengthening WMF’s ties with French experts and institutions, as well as fostering relationships with international organizations based in Paris. Current ongoing WMF projects in France include an initiative at the Potager du Roi to use the former kitchen gardens of the Palace of Versailles as a site for developing and sharing strategies for strengthening heritage green spaces in the face of accelerating climate change.  

Meredith Wiggins

Senior Director of Climate Adaptation

Dr. Meredith Wiggins is an archaeologist and environmental researcher who works at the nexus of climate and culture. Meredith comes to WMF after spending the last five years designing and implementing global climate mitigation and adaptation projects for the U.S. government.   

In her role as Senior Director of Climate Adaptation, Meredith will oversee the implementation of WMF’s Climate Heritage Initiative, unveiled in 2024 as part of the organization’s deepening commitment to championing the role of cultural heritage in mitigating and adapting to climate change.