Vaquita.tv

A number of people work to conserve the Vaquita porpoise around the world. The following are some featured in the our online documentary film – “The Search for the Desert Porpoise”.

Alejandro Robles – Executive Director NOS

Alejandro has a Bachelor’s Degree in Biochemistry from the Instituto Tecnologico de Monterrey in Guaymas and completed the LEAD Program-Mexico (Leadership for the Environment and Development). He has 26 years of experience in resources conservation and management, as well as sustainable development and governance issues in Mexico. From 1984-1986 he worked at the Centro Regional de Investigacion Pesquera in Guaymas as part of the research program for totoaba vaquita. He was the coordinator of the sardine and anchovy programs from 1986 through 1988.
In 1989 he started and directed the Gulf of California Program for Conservation International (CI), and later became the Executive Director of the Mexico program (1993-2000). From November 2000-april 2004 he served as Vice President for Mexico and Central America, where his responsibilities included design and implementation of biodiversity conservation strategies and programs, as well as lobbying these initiatives on a political level in Mexico, Central America and Washington D.C.

Alejandro has worked with marine, desert and tropical ecosystems, although it is in the coastal and marine area with issues regarding governance, protected areas and fisheries where he possesses most of his knowledge and experience. For the past 18 years his work has consisted of directing and coordinating the development and implementation of integrated conservation and sustainable use strategies and programs at local and regional scales. His work has focused on constructing alliances, design and implementation of community projects, formulating public policies and economic alternatives, conservation biology, environmental education and communication.

Throughout his career he has participated in planning and evaluations of conservation programs in Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Brasil, Ecuador, Argentina,as well as Botswana and Zimbabwe, Africa. Since 2003 he is a member of the Red Latinoamericana de Manejadores Costeros and is familiar with coastal management efforts in Argentina, Brasil, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, Uruguay and Chile.

Catalina López – Program Coordinator – NOS

Catalina has a Bachelor’s degree in Marine Biology from the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur (2001), and obtained her Master’s Degree in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation from the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation at Scripps Institution of Oceanography (2006). She was part of the scientific group in the Alternative Futures projects, coordinated by the Harvard School of Design, for the cities of La Paz (2004) and Loreto (2005) in Baja California Sur. Catalina has been a part of the NOS team since October 2006. As part of the NOS team, she has received training in negotiation and effective communication techniques, as well as conflict resolution techniques. Catalina has acted as the coordinator for the group Alto Golfo Sustentable (AGS) since December 2006.

Omar Vidal

Bio coming soon….

Peggy Turk Boyer (CEDO)

Bio coming soon….

Chris Johnson – earthOCEAN

Chris Johnson –

Chris directs earthOCEAN, an educational media company specializing in environmental science, conservation and wildlife productions – www.earthocean.tv He is a Documentary Filmmaker, Photographer & New Media Producer based in Melbourne, Australia.

Chris has directed documentary films and produced multimedia installations, websites and interactive CD-ROMS/DVDs for the National Geographic Society, The American Museum of Natural History, Lincoln Park Zoo, Jurong Bird Park in Singapore, Smithsonian Natural History Museum, the Melbourne Zoo, Ocean Institute, National Science Foundation and the Ocean Alliance.

Chris has a particular passion for the oceans. From 2000-2005, he circumnavigated the globe on the “Voyage of the Odyssey” – a science and education expedition studying whales and ocean pollution. He documented wildlife and conservation efforts in 22 countries and sailing over 85,000 miles across the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Designing and developing a multimedia studio onboard the whale research vessel Odyssey, allowed Chris to produce the award-winning website hosted by PBS from sea, where he recorded and captured all aspects of the expedition as they happened – www.pbs.org/odyssey.

A seasoned photographer and cinematographer, Chris is most comfortable when traveling, and working in the outdoors. He has captured imagery for news and documentary programs for the BBC, PBS, Reuters, National Geographic News, RAI, Sky News-Italy, Channel Ten Australia, ABC Australia, and the Discovery Channel. Chris has produced several documentary films, including one on the endangered Southern Right Whale, and marine conservation issues in the Mediterranean Sea.

Chris is also an accomplished field researcher, and author who is knowledgeable in the areas of cetacean ecology, database design and GIS. He is on the Board of Directors of Filmmakers For Conservation and publishes a blog – “Behind the Camera”. In 2008, he was nominated, along with his wife Genevieve, for the Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation. Chris produced this website, and the online documentary – Vaquita, the Search for the Desert Porpoise.