2004 Global Fellows

Deepak Apte (India) bnhs_conservation@vsnl.net

Deepak is a Conservation Officer at the Bombay Natural History Society working as a policy analyst for a variety of conservation issues.  He earned a MS degree in 1990 with a specialization in Marine Biology and is currently continuing his studies for a PhD in Marine Zoology.  Working for the BNHS, Deepak has organized over 100 training programs in environmental issues and biodiversity for audiences including policy makers, enforcement officers, and school groups.  He participates in an annual tiger census program, and is involved in several marine research field projects including studies of how coral reef poisoning affects sea turtles and on the environmental impacts of development projects like ports and dams.

Roberto Baltazar (Philippines, studying in Belgium) rbaltazar@mail.com

Roberto is currently enrolled in a M.Sc. program of Ecological Marine Management at a university in Belgium.  He is a veterinary practitioner who has been working for a sea turtle conservation project in the Philippines since 1995.  As such, he completed field surveys and tissue analysis to study sea turtle populations, and simultaneously worked to establish community-based management of the turtle research within the Turtle Islands Heritage Protected Area. He also participated in the rehabilitation and release of several marine mammals in the area.   His recent coursework has included physical oceanography, marine ecology, molecular ecology, marine geology and statistics. 

Cynthia Cespedes (Peru) cmirella@yahoo.com

Cynthia earned a Bachelors of Science degree in biology from the Universidad National Agraria La Molina.  She has participated in various research projects, including the study of the reproductive biology of sea lions, and the evaluation of Humbolt penguin and sea otter populations on the southern coast of Peru.  She also has worked on a project to develop a participatory management plan in the Virrila estuary.  Currently Cynthia works for the National Institute for Natural Resources as a specialist in biodiversity for the Biodiversity Conservation Office.  Included in her responsibilities is the development of conservation actions for coastal wetlands and for threatened species and wildlife fauna.

Hedelvy Guada (Venezuela) hjguada@cantv.net 

Hedelvy received her M.Sc. degree in Biological Sciences from the Universidad Simon Bolivar.  Since 1987 she has been active with sea turtle research and conservation and has taught a short course about sea turtles and their conservation since 1992.  She also teaches a Herpetology course at the Universidad Central de Venezuela, where she received her Bachelors degree in Biology.  She is the WIDECAST Country Coordinator for Venezuela, as well as for South America and the Greater Antilles.  She also is the National Coordinator of the Marine Turtles Working Group.  In her work she must involve the many stakeholders concerned with sea turtles including governmental and non-governmental officers. 

Jenny Leal-Flores (Columbia, studying in Germany) jleal_flores@yahoo.com

Since graduating with a degree in Biology from the University of Antioquia in Columbia, Jenny has worked as both a researcher and teacher of Biology in public High Schools and also at the University of Antioquia.  She received her Masters degree in International Studies in Aquatic Tropical Ecology at the Center for Tropical Marine Ecology with the University of Bremen in Germany.  She is currently pursuing her PhD with this same program, and her research concerns the impacts of exotic species on the fishery and fish community in a coastal lagoon in Columbia.  

Chimwemwe Mhango (Malawi) cmhango@chanco.unima.mw

Chimwemwe graduated from the University of Malawi with a Biology degree and received her M.Sc. in Human Ecology from the Free University of Brussels in Belgium.  She is the coordinator of the Department of Biology Masters in Conservation Biology program and Deputy Head of the Biology Department at the University of Malawi.  She has done research in biodiversity conservation and environmental management.  She has taught both undergraduate and postgraduate Masters students, and currently teaches courses on Biodiversity Conservation and Natural Resource Management.

Gladys Okemwa (Kenya) gokemwa2002@yahoo.com

Gladys is a research scientist with the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute.  Much of her work focuses on the assessment of artisanal and recreational fishing catch and efforts, and she is the Coordinator of the Fisheries Landings Statistics Project.  She is also active in sea turtle conservation and currently chairs the Research Subcommittee of the Kenya Sea Turtle Conservation Committee.  She received her B.Sc. in Zoology from the University of Eastern Africa in Kenya and her M.Sc. in Biological Sciences from the University of Auckland in New Zealand.