WCS COLOMBIA
STAFF

Equipo de trabajo

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Catalina Gutiérrez
Directora país
Biologist from the Universidad del Valley, Cali, with a master's degree in Ecology from the Vrije University of Amsterdam, and a PhD in Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology from the University of Friburg. She has more than 14 years of experience in the design, coordination and implementation of conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity initiatives, involving and articulating local communities, government entities, the private sector and other civil society organizations. She is the author of more than 25 scientific and dissemination products on Colombian biodiversity and its relationship with the landscape, conservation actions and people.
Germán Forero-Medina
Science And Conservation Director
Germán graduated in Biology from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, where he studied the population ecology and natural history of the white-throated mud turtle (Kinosternon scorpioides albogulare), reptile living in the island of San Andrés, Colombia. He obtained an MSc in Ecology from the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, studying small marsupials from the Atlantic Forest and the functional connectivity in the landscapes where they live. He received his PhD in Ecology and Conservation from Duke University, in North Carolina, United States. His main research interests are tropical ecology, conservation biology, natural history of tropical vertebrates, landscape ecology, climate change effects on tropical ecosystems and environmental education.
Mónica Lozano Hernández
Financial Manager
Jorge Enrique Parra Bastos
Subdirector de Biodiversidad
Jorge joined Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) - Colombia in May, 2013. He currently coordinates the Protected Areas division. He is a Behavioral Ecologist and a Conservation Biologist with more than 10 years of experience working in conservation projects and research studies. He obtained his BSc and MSc in Biology from Universidad de los Andes, where he studied the social behavior of some species of birds living in the Colombian Andes, Orinoquía and Amazonia. Jorge received his PhD in Behavioral Ecology and Conservation Biology from the University of Bath in the United Kingdom, where he investigated the evolution of reproductive strategies (mating and parental care behaviors) in three closely related shorebird species of the genus Charadrius sp. from Madagascar. Jorge is a member of the Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP), a partnership between Wildlife Conservation Society, Fauna & Flora International and BirdLife International, with the Chicamocha project.
Silvia Juliana Álvarez
Subdirectora de Sostenibilidad
Silvia is a biologist from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. She has a master’s degree in Biodiversity and Ecology from the University of Göttingen in Germany, where she studied fruit selection by titi monkeys (Callicebus lugens) in the Colombian Amazon. She worked as a lecturer and research scientist at the Universidad de Pamplona. For her PhD in Biological Sciences at the University of Maryland, she studied the relationship between movement ecology and group dynamics in mammals. Her main research interest is understanding the distribution patterns and spatial ecology and behavior of species and communities, and their responses to changes resulting from human activities. Her work at WCS focuses on the generation of information and tools to support planning and decision-making processes that promote the development of sustainable landscapes.
José Mauricio Salcedo Cabrales
Consultant
Pato Salcedo es el Coordinador de la Unidad de Comunicación y Divulgación de WCS Colombia.
Lucas Buitrago Garzón
Instruments for Sustainability Specialist
Lucas is a Political Analyst from Universidad del Rosario, Colombia and MSc in Public Policy from Universidad de los Andes, Colombia. He works with WCS since 2015, focusing on ecological compensation projects, conservation sustainability, tools for the application of environmental public policy and environmental economics.
Andrés Balcázar Salazar
Coordinador Tráfico de Vida Silvestre
Andrés is a biologist graduated from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, with over 10 years of experience in the prevention and control of illegal wildlife trafficking within environmental authorities in Colombia, including the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, where he was part of the country's first CITES inspector group. Since 2019, at WCS, he has contributed to the development of diagnostics, plans, and strategies aimed at strengthening environmental and law enforcement authorities, as well as other civil society actors involved in the National Strategy for the Prevention and Control of Illegal Wildlife Trafficking. Since 2023, he has led the Colombia Program's initiatives to reduce illegal wildlife trafficking.
Eduardo Villegas Florez
Coordinador en Estándares Ambientales y Sociales
Ecologist with MSc in Environmental Quality and specialist in international cooperation. He has more than 20 years of experience working in the environmental sector in national and international institutions, he joined WCS as coordinator of environmental and social standards for the ‘Integrated Management of the Putumayo-Içá Basin Project’. His passions include reading, night scubadiving and his family.
Carlos A. Saavedra Rodríguez
Coordinador de especies
Carlos graduated in Biology with emphasis in zoology from the Faculty of Science of the Universidad del Valle, Colombia. He obtained an MSc and a PhD in Biological Sciences from the same university. He has worked for fifteen years in ecology of populations, communities and conservation of mammals, birds, amphibians and snakes, through various research and environmental impact studies developed with academic institutions, environmental authorities and NGOs. He has experience in governance issues for the management and protection of natural resources, capacity building with local, indigenous and black people organizations and relationships with local governments and private companies. He has been consultant and trainer in guiding and environmental interpretation matters for organized local populations and specialized tour operators. He is currently coordinator of operations for WCS Colombia, in charge of finding qualified personnel for projects, of logistics and field security for researches, of biological assessments, monitoring and other activities.

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