Us
Team
Leadership
Gustavo D. Danemann
Executive Director
A marine biologist with a master’s degree in Marine Ecology and a doctorate in Coastal Oceanography, specializing in Marine Resource Management. His doctoral thesis addresses the analysis of public policies and the administration of natural resources in the community of Bahía de los Ángeles, Baja California, for which he won the award for Best Doctoral Dissertation in 2003 from the Association of Researchers of the Sea of Cortez (AIMAC). Gustavo has more than 30 years of professional experience in the conservation and administration of natural areas and resources, environmental management instruments, ichthyology, avifauna, and wetlands in northwestern Mexico. He has a special interest in Natural Protected Areas, fisheries, communication, and education, as well as being an academic and researcher with publications in specialized journals. His passion and commitment to nature conservation has driven the mission of the Pronatura Noroeste team for 25 years.
Daniela López Acosta
Director of Operations
A biologist from the Autonomous University of Baja California, specializing in Faunistic Resources. She has a Master of Science in the Use, Management, and Preservation of Natural Resources, with a focus on Ecology of Arid Zones. Daniela has collaborated in various reforestation projects, in payments for environmental services, and in the creation of Management and Use Units in conjunction with the National Forestry Commission. Since 2011, she has worked at Pronatura Noroeste, where she has worked as a field technician in reptile monitoring and a project coordinator at the regional level. In addition, she creates and manages legal tools for land conservation in northwestern Mexico, under which 265,000 hectares are legally protected through Pronatura Noroeste. Daniela has a special talent for processes, which she transfers to the Operations Department, thanks to her experience in the field.
Nohemí González Peña
Director of the Development Department
Has a degree in Industrial Chemistry with more than a decade of experience in transnational companies. She combines her profession with volunteering in the social sector, where she discovered a strong vocation for promoting non-profit organizations. In this work, she has had contact with organizations that seek common welfare and environmental improvement, a field that is becoming increasingly relevant throughout the world. Nohemí is specialized in the creation, strengthening, and sustainability of civil associations and organizations, as well as fundraising. In 2014, she ended her work with industry to focus entirely on the social sector. She currently contributes her vision and experience to Pronatura Noroeste as Director of Development Departament.
Valeria Towns
Conservation Director
She is a biologist who graduated from the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) and is currently in the process of completing her PhD in Biological Sciences with a specialization in Ecology. For 9 years, she was dedicated to strengthening conservation and sustainable development programs in the Lacandona Rainforest as part of the NGO Natura y Ecosistemas Mexicanos A.C., where she led the Mammal Monitoring Program in the region.
From 2016 to 2019 she worked in the public service as Coordinator of Institutional Affairs and as Director of Priority Species for Conservation at the National Commission of National Protected Areas. She also served as coordinator of the “Program for the Conservation of the Vaquita Porpoise in the Upper Gulf of California” as part of the Whale Museum, where she addressed the Mexican porpoise issue from a perspective that included the development of alternative and profitable fisheries. Without a doubt, Valeria’s incorporation as Director of Conservation for Pronatura Noroeste strengthens the team in the face of the enormous environmental challenges in the region.
Regional Coordinators
RAQUEL CASTRO DÍAZ
Colorado River Delta
rcastro@pronatura-noroeste.org
SERGIO GONZÁLEZ CARRILLO
Baja California Sur
sgonzalezcarrillo@pronatura-noroeste.org
JUAN CARLOS LEYVA MARTÍNEZ
Sinaloa, Durango, Chihuahua and South of Sonora
jcleyva@pronatura-noroeste.org
Thematic Coordinators
Mariella Sáenz Chávez,
Natural Protected Areas
msaenz@pronatura-noroeste.org
Geovanni Cordero Herrera,
Conservation Data Center
gcordero@pronatura-noroeste.org
Lizz González Moreno,
Conservation Education
lgonzalez@pronatura-noroeste.org
Miguel Ángel Vargas,
Land Conservation
mvargas@pronatura-noroeste.org
Natalie Rodríguez Dowdell,
Behavior Change
nrodriguez@pronatura-noroeste.org
Julián García Walther,
Bird Laboratory
jgarciaw@pronatura-noroeste.org
Carlos Álvarez Flores,
Fishery Science
calvarez@pronatura-noroeste.org
Laura Elizabeth Ibarra García,
Sustainable Fisheries
libarra@pronatura-noroeste.org
Ricardo Juárez Salas,
Surveillance and Legality Culture
rjuarez@pronatura-noroeste.org
Teams
Department of Administration and Human Resources
Francisco Amezcua Batres, Accountant; Diana Soto Mercado, H.R. and Payroll; Ricardo Patrón Castro and Cristina Vallejo Marchena, Project managers; Ariel Bojórquez Lugo, Systems and Informatics; Angélica Griselda Clemente Garnica, Accounting Assistant.
Development Department
Saira J. Sandoval De Santiago, Investor Relations Coordinator; Itsí Razo Saucedo, Content Creation.
Ensenada, Baja California
María Aquino Javer, Natural Protected Areas and Fishing Improvement Projects; Edith Liliana Couttolenc Lyle, Onsite Technician in Bahia de Los Angeles; Francisco Alonso Peinado Humberto, Onsite Technician in Baja California; Marco Carignán Palacios, Legal Consultant; Guillermo Olguín Espinoza, Relations with Land Owners; Xóchitl Rojas Lagunes, Mariana Paredes and Rosa Vázquez, Geographic Information Systems; Liliana Esparza Garcia, Rio Tijuana Leader of Area; Paola Murrieta Olguín, Education for Conservation and Private and Social Land Conservation; Daniel Portillo and Abraham Aguilar Nuño, Red Motus; Karen Velarde, Office manager; Marlenne Olea García, Thematic Specialist Technician; Guadalupe Sastre Flores, Reception; Cynthia Castruita Beltrán, Maintenance.
Bahía de los Ángeles, Baja California
Martha Cordero Rubio, Maintenance.
La Paz, Baja California Sur
Norma Sánchez Reyes, Natural Protected Areas; Belén Ojeda Villegas, Fishery Database; Juan Carlos Castro Salgado, Fisheries; Alejandro Torres Mendía, Vigilance; Nallely Arce Villavicencio and Gerardo Marrón Méndez, Terrestrial Priority Ecosystems; Fernando Garza Larracilla and Diana Laura Gutiérrez López, Environmental Education; Sula Vanderplank and Roberto Carmona Piña, Scientific Consulting; Katia Gutiérrez Méndez, Field Technician; Mirtha Susana González, Office manager,Josefina Elizabeth Urías Félix, Maintenance.
San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora
Yuliana Dimas Granillo, Community Involvement; Stefanny Villagómez, Biological Monitoring; Alejandra Calvo Fonseca, José Juan Butrón Rodríguez, Juan Carlos Medina Cruz, Miguel Cruz Torres, Eduardo Soto Montoya and Benito Rocha Brambila, Monitoring Technicians; Moisés Arano Terrones, José Luis Romero Villaseñor, Ángel Basquez García, Carlos Armando Solorio Vázquez, Salvador Solorio Vázquez, Francisco Castillo Tapia, Cristhian García Vázquez, Moisés Rubén Reina Gaxiola, Maribel Vallejo Soto and Simón Tapia Martínez, Field Technicians Onsite Restoration Miguel Aleman; Elizabeth Torres Olvera and Gabriela Chávez Espinoza, Onsite Technicians; David Parra Lugo, Manager; Carmen Félix Torres, Maintenance.
Culiacán, Sinaloa
Rosa Benítez López, Terrestrial Priority Ecosystems; María Alejandra Monrreal Martínez, Office Manager; Arturo Avila Medina and Luis Mendoza Contreras, Bird Conservation; Santiaga Salomón López, Maintenance.
Tepic, Nayarit
Isaías Jiménez Ríos, Onsite Technicians; Édgar Fregoso Rodríguez, Systems and Informatics; Cristina Sanabia Olivarría, Office manager; Ana Flores Lomelí, Maintenance.
Translated by: Christian Cid, Mauro Dávila & Fernanda Izabal.
