PLEASED TO MEET YOU
Dr. Rebecca Smith - Principle Instructor
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Becca obtained her undergraduate degree in Zoology from the University of Edinburgh, her Masters of Research in Primate Biology, Behaviour and Conservation at Roehampton University and her PhD in Conservation Science with the University of Aberdeen. She has 15 years experience working with non-human primates in Namibia, Panama and Puerto Rico. She studied the hooded capuchins of the Paraguayan Atlantic Forest for ten years and has published several papers on their behaviour. She has presented her research at conferences across the globe. She is a National Geographic Explorer and received the Lawrence Jacobsen Education Development Award from the International Primatological Society twice and the Cyril Rosen Award from the Primate Society of Great Britain. She is currently the Executive Director of Para La Tierra and is implementing a program of economically beneficial reforestation in the Atlantic Forest region.
Jorge Damián Ayala Santacruz - Education Director
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Jorge grew up in a rural village in Eastern Paraguay. He joined Para La Tierra in 2011 as a forest guard, after completing his forest guard training with Fundación Moisés Bertoni in Reserva Natural del Bosque Mbaracayu. He was a vital link to the local communities around Laguna Blanca, and was an integral part of engagement programs, including coordinating the Female Empowerment Project from 2012-2014. He completed a course in environmental education through Proyecto Ambiental and learnt English with the Centro Cultural Paraguayo Americano. In 2016 he travelled to Mexico for training in participatory environmental education with HUNAB, and he co-founded and runs PLT’s Eco-Leadership for Sustainable Development Program. In 2019 Jorge was awarded the Charles Southwick Conservation Education Commitment Award from the International Primatological Society.