Biologo
Biólogo Panameño con estudios de postgrado en la Universidad de los Andes en Bogotá, Colombia, y la Universidad Goethe - Instituto de Investigación Senckenberg, Frankfurt am Main, Alemania. Actualmente trabaja como investigador en la Universidad Autónoma de Chiriquí, Panamá. Abel se especializa en el estudio de anfibios y reptiles de Panamá, y ha sido expositor en congresos internacionales, en Latinoamérica, Norte América, Europa y Asia. También es Investigador asociado de la Asociación Adopta Panamá, Coiba AIP y director de la organización Los Naturalistas. Abel Es parte del Sistema Nacional de Investigación de Panamá, categoría 1, SENACYT.
Fundador Unidos por Bocas
Unidos por Bocas
Center Director The School for Field Studies
Cinda P. Scott received her Ph.D. in 2009 in Marine Biology and Fisheries with a focus in molecular evolutionary genomics from the Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science at the University of Miami. Her work has included teaching and lecturing, administrative and grants management, and scientific research. Since 2014, she has led The School for Field Studies, Center for Tropical Island Biodiversity Studies program in Bocas del Toro, Panamá where she currently serves as Center Director. She manages a team of faculty, staff and students who are dedicated to understanding anthropogenic impacts of tourism on the natural environment of Bocas del Toro. Her current research examines the health of mangrove ecosystems throughout the Bocas del Toro Archipelago in addition to maintaining interests in marine protected areas, coral reef ecology and conservation biology.
Founder Caribbean Coral Restoration Center, Inc.
Founder and President of Caribbean Coral Restoration Center, Inc. with
headquarters in Boulder, Colorado, USA. This is a Company dedicated to
creating funding support for programs that help restore, preserve and
sustain marine Eco-systems in the Caribbean.
Executive Director Planet Rehab
Longtime Animal/Nature lover, Gary founded Planet Rehab in 2002 after learning how compromised the environment had become. As Sustainability Director, worked with Fortune 500-companies to be better Enviro-Stewards. As Director of Planet Rehab, Gary provided environmental presentations to Movie Studios, Universities, Churches, etc., to inspire environmental protection. With husband, Carlo, he hosted. Beach Cleanups, Earth Day Festivals, Original Enviro-Musicals, Plant-based Food Festivals -even opened an Animal Sanctuary for over 350 animals. In Oct 2019 Planet Rehab relocated to a stunning 30-acre Jungle Property in Bocas del Toro, Panama to focus on reforestation and species protection.
Jessica Hidalgo
Abogada
Jéssica Hidalgo es abogada e investigadora de la Universidad Autónoma de Chiriquí, con estudios de posgrado en Investigación Científica, Derechos Humanos y Justicia Constitucional y estudios doctorales en Ciencias de la Educación. Trabaja en divulgación científica y acceso abierto a las ciencias, para el proyecto Think Tank de la UNACHI, auspiciado por la SENACYT, en el Centro de Investigación en Recursos Naturales (CIRN). Jéssica se especializa en el estudio de los derechos de las mujeres indígenas panameñas y en temas de justicia social y Derechos Humanos.
Marine biologist
Maggie Johnson is a marine biologist and Postdoctoral Scholar at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts. She has devoted her career to tackling the question, how are humans altering the face of coral reefs? Maggie studies coral reefs across the globe, from the central tropical Pacific to Caribbean Panama, and seeks to understand what role humans are playing in the rapid degradation of these valuable ecosystems. As an avid scuba diver, she combines her underwater observations of how coral reef communities are changing over time with cutting-edge lab experiments that show how human-induced changes in ocean pH, temperature, and oxygen can dramatically alter the survival of reef-building corals and algae.
The long-term prognosis for coral reefs in this era a rapid environmental change is grim. But Maggie’s research provides hope that natural resilience will allow some coral reefs to persist into
the future, particularly if we are able to mitigate environmental change locally
Co-founder and executive director of The Darklands Foundation
Mathilde Grand is the co-founder and executive director of The Darklands Foundation and the founder of Citizens Of Chocolate. She works on cacao production and human development in the rainforest in Bocas del Toro for the last 18 years and seats at the Panama National Commission on Cacao. She has previously worked on indigenous issues and agriculture in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Ecuador, Peru, South Chile and the USA. She is also part of a medicinal plants workshop with a group of Ngabe indigenous women in Bocas del Toro. Her presentation demonstrates the need to use cocoa production as an instrument for the conservation of the rain forest and for the human development of its native inhabitants; the rightful guardians of the rain forest.
National Coordinator MarAlliance - Panama
Megan is a marine biologist and the National Coordinator of the NGO MarAlliance in Panama. She has a BSc in Environmental Science from the University of Southern Mississippi in the United States and an MSc in Biodiversity and Conservation from the University of Exeter in England, where her thesis work focused on the spatial ecology of hawksbill turtles in Belize. Her current work involves the carrying out of research, education, and capacity-building projects in multiple sites across Panama that focus on the study and conservation of large marine wildlife together with local communities.
Till Deuss
Founder and CEO Bocas Mariculture S.A.
Till Deuss holds a Master´s of Science in biology and is the founder of Bocas Mariculture, an aquaculture company dedicated to the sustainable production of marine species native to Bocas del
Toro. Born and raised in southern Germany, his passion for aquaculture as a means of nature conservation has led him to work for universities, research institutes and the private sector on five
continents. Till successfully bred many marine for the first time in the world and published his findings in international magazines. He first came to Panamá as a fellow at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in 2010. When not working in his laboratory, Till enjoys diving and exploring his underwater surroundings.