Our Team - Alianza Jambato

Board and Founding Members

María del Carmen Vizcaíno Barba

Founder | President| Executive Director

Biologist with a master’s degree in Socio-Environmental Studies and another in Education, with a specialization in organization and management of educational projects. She has experience in conservation through environmental education and community work. Leads the regional in situ conservation group for Atelopus within the Atelopus Survival Initiative (ASI) and is a member of the Atelopus Working Group of the Amphibian Specialist Group of the IUCN Species Survival Commission.

Mónica Páez Vacas

Co-Founder | Vice President | Member of the Technical Board representing the Academy

Biologist. PhD in Ecology, specializing in Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genetics. Associate researcher at the Jambatu Center for Amphibian Research and Conservation. She has led several research projects on elucidating eco-evolutionary processes in Andean tropical herpetofauna and how this information can be applied to conservation.

David Santiago Parra

Co-Founder | Secretary

Biologist with a master’s degree in Development Economics and a diploma in Environmental Education for Sustainable Development. He has over ten years of experience in conservation, environmental education, and ecology. Director of Conservation at Fundación Jocotoco. He focuses on developing tools to reconcile human needs with conservation and study their effectiveness.

Sofía Carvajal Endara

Co-Founder

Biologist. PhD in Biology. Expertise in Evolution and Ecological interactions.

Juan Manuel Guayasamín

Co-Founder

Biologist. PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Experience in research and amphibian conservation.

William Millingalli

Co-Founder

Local Research Assistant for Jambato Monitoring, leader of the indigenous Quilaló community in Angamarca, where the Jambato Sanctuary is located.

Collaborators:

Andrés Mármol

Research and Communication Coordinator

Biologist. PhD in Biomechanics, Physiology and Adaptation in Vertebrates. 3D modeler.

Jimmy Velasteguí

Researcher and environmental educator volunteer

Ecosystems Engineer. Experience in environmental education and species monitoring.

Andrea Terán Valdez

Member of the Technical Board representing national NGOs | Centro Jambatu

Biologist. Master in Environmental Sciences and Natural Resources Management.
Experience in amphibian conservation.

Luis F. Marin Fonte

Member of the Technical Board representing international NGOs | Iniciativa de Supervivencia Atelopus.

Amphibian conservation biologist.

David Salazar Valenzuela

Researcher | Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica (UTI)

Biologist. PhD in Evolution and Ecology. Expertise in ecology and evolution of amphibians and reptiles.

Patricia E. Salerno

Researcher | Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica (UTI)

Biologist. PhD in Evolution and Ecology. Expert in phylogenetics and conservation genomics.

Luis A. Coloma

Researcher | Centro Jambatu de Investigación y Conservación de Anfibios

Biologist. PhD in Systematics and Ecology. Experience in research and amphibian conservation.

Amanda Belén Quezada

Independent Researcher

Biology with mention in Ecology and Environmental Management and nature photographer. Experience in research of amphibians and reptiles in the field and dissemination of scientific knowledge for their conservation.

María José Navarrete

Independent Researcher

Biologist. Ph.D candidate in the Integrative Biology department at UC Berkeley. Area of research: Evolution, Ecology, and Herpetology

Gabriela Maldonado

Independent Researcher

Biologist. Master in Biodiversity and Climate Change. Expertise in Evolution, Conservation of amphibians, and scientific collections.

Gustavo Pazmiño Otamendi

Audiovisual Producer | 3Diversity

Biologist. Nature and wildlife photographer and videographer. Experience in ecology and
conservation.

Micaela Stacey Solís

Audiovisual Producer | 3Diversity

Biologist. Master in Biodiversity and Climate Change. Photographer and videographer
nature and wildlife. Experience in ecology and conservation.

Andrea Varela Jaramillo

Audiovisual Producer | 3Diversity

Biologist. PhD candidate in Biology. Experience in herpetology and conservation.

Lina Valencia

Collaborator | Re:wild

Conservation biologist. Manager Andean Countries.

Rebecca Tarvin

Collaborator / Berkeley University

PhD in Biological Sciences. Expertise in evolution, ecology, molecular biology, toxins, genetics, and genomics. Professor of integrative biology and curator of herpetology.