Jake Kheel

Grupo Puntacana Foundation
Vice President

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Jake Kheel is a sustainability innovator, author, and award-winning documentary filmmaker. Since 2005 he has confronted social and environmental challenges in the tourism industry as Vice President of Sustainability for Grupo Puntacana in the Dominican Republic. Under his leadership, Grupo Puntacana has received prestigious awards for its sustainability programs, including awards by World Tourism and Travel Council, Conde Nast Traveler, Travel & Leisure, and National Geographic Traveler.

His book, Waking the Sleeping Giant: Unlocking the Hidden Power of Business to Save Our Planet, uses examples from his vast experience in Punta Cana to demonstrate how companies can drive breakthroughs in sustainability.

Jake co-directed and produced the award-winning documentary film Death by a Thousand Cuts, which explores Dominican-Haitian deforestation and escalating human conflict on the border. He is currently producing a hosted documentary series, Island Naturalist, to be released in 2022.

Jake is on the Board of the Center for Responsible Tourism (CREST) and former President of the National Association of Businesses for Environmental Protection (ECORED) in the Dominican Republic, an association of nearly 100 prominent companies committed to sustainability.