Laura Giraldo
Laura manages agricultural and forestry certification services across the U.S. and Canada. She conducts audits, manages client portfolios, and ensures that certification processes meet the organisation’s quality standards. Her role includes client engagement, report finalisation, and supporting the growth and development of certification services.
At Preferred by Nature, Laura leads Chain of Custody and certification audits for agricultural and forestry clients, overseeing the full audit cycle from planning and logistics to field assessments and reporting. She maintains client portfolios, ensures compliance with standards such as FSC, Rainforest Alliance, RSPO, MSC, and ASC, and provides guidance on technical and regulatory requirements. Laura also supports policy development, participates in stakeholder discussions, and contributes to the training of new auditors.
Before joining Preferred by Nature, Laura had over ten years of experience in certification and sustainability assurance across Canada, the U.S., and Latin America. She has worked as a contract lead auditor for multiple certification schemes, a technical advisor supporting agricultural and forestry supply chains, and in veterinary and food system roles implementing HACCP, ISO, and sustainable supply chain practices.
Laura holds a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree and a degree in Horticulture, and has completed extensive auditor training across multiple certification standards, including MSC, ASC, BRCGS, GLOBALG.A.P, CanadaGAP, and ISO 9001. She is trilingual in English, Spanish, and French, and brings a strong combination of technical expertise, client management, and sustainability leadership to her role.
"I’m passionate about sustainability and motivated to support Preferred by Nature’s work in advancing responsible land use and supply chains that benefit people, nature, and the climate. Being part of an organisation whose values reflect my own is important to me."
- Auditing and certification: FSC, Rainforest Alliance, RSPO, MSC, ASC, CSI, Fairtrade, GLOBALG.A.P, CanadaGAP, BRCGS, IMC-GAP
- Chain of Custody and traceability audits
- Client portfolio management and stakeholder engagement
- Corrective actions, CAPAs, and continuous improvement
- Policy, SOP, and assurance framework development
- Technical tools: Salesforce, Microsoft 365, SharePoint, Power BI
- Languages: English, Spanish, French
