Tyler Gage

Tyler has spent the last ten years working with indigenous communities in the Amazon developing economic development and rainforest conservation programs. Having started as a 19 year old researching Amazonian languages, he grew to build his organization, RUNA, into one of the leading social change organizations in the Amazon, supporting over 20,000 indigenous people. Tyler has been recognized as a Forbes 30 Under 30 Entrepreneur and RUNA is on Inc Magazine's 500 Fastest Growing Companies in America list for 2015. He has been featured in Richard Branson's book "Screw Business as Usual", and in Fast Company, National Geographic, and Men's Fitness.

After being recruited to Brown to play on their Nationally Ranked Division 1 soccer team, Tyler developed a unique fascination with Amazonian cultures. After his freshman year he followed this interest to South America, where he ended up spending several years researching Amazonian languages. During this time, Tyler witnessed firsthand the tradeoff indigenous communities face–while they want to preserve their cultural and environmental heritage, they also have an immediate need to earn cash and feed their families in an increasingly globalized world. After long nights of storytelling and ceremonies, Tyler would awaken the next morning to the crisp sound of a chainsaw cutting down hardwood trees nearby. He was struck by the stark choice communities were forced to make between their cultural and environmental values and their immediate economic needs.

Later, Tyler fell in love with guayusa tea (pronounced "gwhy-you-sa"), a rare Amazonian leaf that contains as much caffeine as coffee, double the antioxidants of green tea, and a naturally sweet taste. Recognizing that no one had ever commercially produced this leaf, Tyler an opportunity for indigenous farmers to sustainably produce this product to support their families, and then offer as a healthy energy beverage to consumers in the US.

Back at school, Tyler wrote a business plan with his friend Dan for this new enterprise, and then turned down a Fulbright grant after graduating to move to Ecuador and make it a reality. Securing funding from an impressive and diverse range of investors including The MacArthur Foundation and Channing Tatum, Tyler used a liberal arts approach of dedicated research and partnership building to get RUNA off the ground.

Six years later, RUNA will buy over 1 million pounds of fresh guayusa leaves that were sustainably produced by over 3,000 farming families in 2015, and RUNA has become one of the fastest growing beverage brands in the US.