Denise graduates from high school
with a passion for the rainforest
and a commitment to dedicating
her life’s work to environmental
protection.

Denise studies
tropical ecology and
sustainable
development in
Costa Rica.

As a geospatial consultant, Denise
meets Dr. Wangari Maathai, the
Nobel Peace Prize-winning environmentalist,
to discuss geospatial
technology for her African Green
Belt Movement.
Photo credit: Jon Crispin

Denise founds Castronovo
Chocolate and opens a boutique
chocolate workshop and store in
downtown Stuart, Florida

Castronovo Chocolate wins their first
worldwide Gold Chocolate Maker
award and many more at the International
Chocolate Awards World ceremony
held in London.

Denise journeys to the Sierra Nevada de Santa
Marta, revered by the indigenous Arhuacos as the
"heart of the world." Her transformative meeting
with Mamo Camilo and his family shapes the
mission of Castronovo Chocolate, as she is
entrusted with the important role of spreading
their message of environmental conservation.

Denise is invited to Peru by USAID to represent
USA chocolate makers and meet
cacao growers. She meets the Mishki indigenous
women cooperative, who have reclaimed
peace in Chazuta through cacao
cultivation. Castronovo Chocolate purchases
macambo from them.

Castronovo Chocolate celebrates its 10th
anniversary! Denise joins the board of the
Amazon Conservation Team, a nonprofit
dedicated to partnering with indigenous
communities in the Amazon to safeguard their
culture and land.

Denise raised funds to purchase
chocolate-making equipment for the Arhuacos.
This initiative empowers the Arhuacos to
produce and sell their own chocolate. Their
cacao and chocolate income enables them
acquire 17 hectares of land in 2024.

Denise travels Costa Rica to become a Level 3
Certified Chocolate Taster from the International
Institute for Cacao & Chocolate Tasting (IICCT). During her visit to CATIE, the world’s
second-largest cacao germplasm bank, she samples
some of the original genetic strains of cacao.