Get to Know the Women in WILDCOAST
We are celebrating International Women’s Day! We all know about the amazing and strong women leaders, past and present, who have spearheaded the conservation movement like Dr. Sylvia Earle, Rachel Carson, Berta Cacéres, Dr. Jane Lubchenco, Jane Goodall, among many others. Now it’s time for you to get to know the wonderful women behind the conservation work done at WILDCOAST! These amazing women have worked to conserve and protect some of the most beautiful and ecologically important places in the world. They have fought large corporations and stopped big developments in the Cabo Pulmo Marine Reserve; they have collaborated with indigenous communities along the coast of Oaxaca to help protect the threatened Olive Ridely sea turtle; they have swam with Great White Sharks in order to bring awareness to their protection and importance. Learn More About Them:
Tannia Frausto, Coordinator for Networking and Conservation Management.
Biologist based in Mexico City, Mexico. For the last three years she has been working with WILDCOAST as a coordinator for the Ramsar project where she collaborates with and assists Mexico’s National Commission for Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) to optimize the management of 142 Ramsar sites in Mexico that consist of internationally important wetlands.
Gabriela Ang Montes de O. Program Coordinator for the Coast of Oaxaca.
Marine biologist based in Huatulco, Oaxaca, Mexico. Gaby implements WILDCOAST´s conservation programs along the Oaxaca coast and works the region’s indigenous communities to conserve and protect the threatened Olive Ridley Sea Turtle and the critically endangered Leatherback sea turtle. “Working at WILDCOAST to conserve the beautiful ecosystems of the coast of Oaxaca has become a wonderful experience, especially as a woman, when I get to work with communities to build capacity and educate about our environment. It’s amazing to be an example in these communities as a leading woman figure and show that we don’t have to stay in our homes waiting for men to work and provide for us. I can show women and girls that other alternatives and roads exist for them to become leaders.”
Monica Franco, Program Coordinator for Magdalena Bay.
Based in La Paz, Mexico. “When I was 9 years old, my family and I went to see the Gray Whales in Ensenada, Baja California. What I didn’t know then, was that this experience would stay with me forever and that it would add to the cluster of emotions (wonder, admiration, inspiration) that were caused every time I saw National Geographic’s documentaries about marine mammals during my adolescence. Today, 20 years later, I work with pride in a profession that allows me to study this creature and also to be part of an organization that not only has confidence in my abilities and skills, but also shares my conservation principles.”
Diane Castaneda, Marine and Communications Coordinator.
Sofia Goméz Vallarta, Program Coordinator, Los Cabos Region & Vizcaino Peninsula.
Based in Los Cabo, Mexico. Sofia is working in Cabo Pulmo National Park and is successfully implementing WILDCOAST chapters throughout the greater Baja California Sur region, specifically in El Vizcaino Peninsula and the Los Cabos Region. Sofia holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Oceanography form Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. She also studied Wildlife Management at The Instituto de Ecología, A. C. and received a Diploma in Institutional Development and Fundraising from Procura A. C. and Indiana University. She also obtained a certificate in Cultural Policy and Management.
Fay Crevoshay, Communications and Policy Director.
Her conservation communications campaigns on behalf of sea turtles, whales, mangroves and coral reefs have been reported on by the Wall Street Journal, NPR, New York Times, BBC, Televisa, TV-Azteca, Univision, and Telemundo among others. Fay’s “My Man Doesn’t Eat Sea Turtle Eggs” Campaign was called, “The best ocean campaign in human history” by conservation communication guru Randy Olson. Fay is a native of Mexico City. M.A. Political Science, York University; M.A. International Relations University of Las Americas; B.A. Economics Bar-Ilan University, Israel. Oh, and she’s the brave one to swim with Great White Sharks!
Rosa Osuna, Administrative Assistant
Rosa works at our Ensenada office and is the glue that holds COSTASALVAJE (our Mexican offices) together! She was raised in the Todos Santos Island in Baja California, surrounded by ocean, so it was only natural that her work and passion would revolve around ocean conservation.
Derry Cowley, Development Manager.
Derry hold an important job at WILDCOAST! With her expertise in fundraising and event planning, she is helping the WILDCOAST team continue our work each year to conserve our coast and ocean. She is an ocean lover and a partner and founder of Sail San Diego that offers up close & personal whale watching excursions here in San Diego. In her spare time you can find her sailing around the coastal waters of San Diego or abroad.
Yolanda Garces, Executive Assistant.
Yolanda is the glue that holds WILDCOAST together! A Venezuela native, a country that takes great pride in their natural protected areas, it’s no wonder that her road in life took her to conservation work.
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