 |
  
The most important factor in the success of our field courses is
our highly qualified and talented instructor staff. Our instructors
have extensive experience in natural sciences, leadership, and education,
and are committed to providing strong mentorship to the young adults
we work with each year. With a sense of humor to match their sense
of adventure, our instructors immerse every student in the thrill
of learning outside the classroom.
During the current field season, our field staff represent seven
countries and a deep diversity of science and educational backgrounds.
All instructors participate in an intensive 2 to 4 week staff training
at the start of each field season.
Meet some of our instructors in Costa
Rica, Galápagos, and México.
Costa Rica
 |
Nicholas Deyo
Costa Rica Instructor
Nicholas Deyo lives in Missoula, MT where he enjoys rock climbing and skiing when not working as a field biologist for the Rocky Mountain Research Station. He has served as a Peace Corps volunteer on the South Pacific island of Samoa, where he taught marine conservation to high school students.
Nicholas has also traveled extensively through Central America, as well as having worked for the Institute for Tropical Ecosystem Studies in the El Yunque National Forest of Puerto Rico.
|
 |
Kristian Gareau
Costa Rica Instructor
Kristian feels so utterly moved by the beauty and the intricacies of the natural world and the quandaries we humans face in our relationship with it, that he decided to pursue an environmental biology degree at McGill University in his hometown of Montréal, Québec. Since then, he has realized that the best way for him to be the change he wants to see in the world is for him to communicate to others what he has learned and loved about it, while learning about how others live and listening to their stories.
Now, having spent the better part of 2007 explaining to people what life is like for the whales of the North Atlantic, Kristian has decided to make his way down to Costa Rica to educate the future leaders of our planet about the marvels of those other extraordinary marine animals—sea turtles.
While not nourishing his brain with poetry, science or world politics, hiking in the wilderness or chomping down on tasty, local organic veggies, this mammal has been glimpsed on various dance floors across the continent… Oh la la!
|
 |
Andrea Monge
Costa Rica Instructor
Andrea grew up both in Spain and Mexico. Her love for nature stems from her teenage years when she volunteered in an ecological station in the Lacandona rainforest, worked with Mar y Tierra to protect sea turtles in Guerrero and participated in an Animal Planet's documentary on Baja California's marine wildlife.
Later, she went to Australia to study Marine Biology next to one of the world's natural wonders: the Great Barrier Reef. She was very fortunate to work as the Education Officer for the Sea Turtle Foundation in Townsville and as a volunteer Researcher for the Minke Whale Project at James Cook University.
She is now very excited to discover in Costa Rica yet another beautiful corner of the world. She can't wait to share her knowledge and experiences with EPI students and is specially looking forward to see the look on their faces when they encounter their first leatherback turtle!
|
 |
Candice Newmyer
Costa Rica Instructor
Candice grew up being inspired by the beautiful California coast line in Monterey, California. In third grade she decided that she wanted to work with marine animals, and has been chasing that dream ever since.
She studied marine biology at University of California Santa Barbara and has been a science teacher in Honduras. Candice enjoys sharing her passion for science, culture and the outdoors with anyone that is around. She is constantly perusing the next adventure, including rock climbing, scuba diving, white water rafting, and host of other outdoor activities.
Candice looks forward to contributing to the lives of EPI students and assisting with the conservation efforts of the beautiful Leatherback Sea Turtle..
|
 |
Sofía Rodríguez Brenes
Costa Rica Instructor
She was born in San José, Costa Rica; even though she grew up in the city she has always loved the forest and nature. She is a herpetologist; And studied Biology at the University of Costa Rica, and since the beginning of her career she was interested in amphibians and reptiles.
Sofía enjoys going out to the field at night looking for amphibians and reptiles. She is now working on her thesis, it is about frog species, and some properties of their call.
|
Galapagos
 |
Cecilia Brosig
Galápagos Instructor
Cecilia is a Brazilian biologist who discovered EPI while working as research assistant at Pacuare Nature Reserve in Costa Rica (2003). She started instructing with us in Galapagos (2004) and invigorated our program with her extensive sea turtle experience and enthusiasm.
Since then, she has spent time in each of our field sites as an instructor, served as research coordinator in Galapagos, and worked in our Us office. She is currently working in the Galapagos program, but you never know where her next destination might be!
|
 |
Pedro Linares
Galápagos Instructor
Discipline, passion and respect are three words that Pedro always keeps in mind throughout all of his professional and personal activities. He is from Bogota, the capital of Colombia, where he studied Ecology at Javeriana University. Since his first year at the university, he became involved in various projects and programs that focused on the environment, education and worked with local communities.
In the last year and a half, Pedro has been working in the field of ecological restoration in Seattle WA, in an international environment setting. He has been studying and practicing restoration techniques while sharing his culture with participants from 20 different countries.
In trying to maintain balance, he adds a lot of exercise to his daily routines. Running, swimming and biking are his favorite disciplines, in addition to reading about the political history and current state of his country.
|
 |
Nathan Truelove
Galápagos Instructor
Nathan's research and educational background includes a diverse mix of disciplines such as ecotoxicology, stream ecology, fisheries biology, biological oceanography, conservation biology and environmental education. He completed a B.S. in biology at the University of Washington and an M.S. in Fisheries Science at Oregon State University.
Nathan really enjoys working internationally and has worked on environmental conservation projects in Costa Rica, Argentina, Zanzibar, and the Galapagos Islands. While working in the Galapagos Islands Nathan helped develop a monitoring plan for marine ecotourism activities for the Charles Darwin Foundation and taught marine ecology to local students. He spent 2 months at sea and logged
62 research dives while collecting data for the ecotourism monitoring plan.
His future plans are to protect and restore aquatic ecosystems and biodiversity through environmental education, multidisciplinary research and ecosystem management.
|
 |
Coral Ann Wolf
Galápagos Instructor
Coral was born and raised in Wisconsin. She graduated with a BS from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 2001 and is currently finishing an MS in Conservation Biology at the University of Michigan.
Her passion for island ecology is evident in her range of wildlife research experiences that have taken her to the islands off the coast of California, Hawaii, the Juan Fernández Islands in Chile, and the Galápagos, where she helped to study the breeding ecology of the marine iguanas.
Coral is excited to get to work in the Galapagos as an instructor, sharing her research experience and knowledge of island ecosystems. Coral loves any activity where she gets to be outside. Riding bikes, snowboarding, and snorkeling are some of her favorites. She also enjoys visiting the local farmers' market, dancing, and getting to be crafty.
|
México
 |
Emily Evans
México Instructor
Emily is originally from Colorado and grew up in Houston, TX. She graduated from Texas A&M University at Galveston with a Bachelor of Science in Ocean and Coastal Resources, and has applied her knowledge to travel and teach on the coasts of North and Central America.
While in South Texas she discovered her love for the Latin culture and the Spanish language. Her passion for the marine environment has brought her to Mexico several times for surf trips and mission trips. She is trained and certified as a Wildland Firefighter, Professional Waterfront Lifeguard, Wilderness First Responder and PADI SCUBA diver. She worked for the Catalina Island Marine Institute off the coast of California as a Marine Science Instructor for a year. She then moved to South Carolina to work with the Department of Natural Resources and volunteered her time teaching with the Low Country Environmental Education Program.
Emily's last adventure took her to Costa Rica working for a non-profit conservation organization and she is very excited to join EPI in Baja!
|
 |
Brandon Hughart
México Instructor
Brandon has worked as a naturalist educator and wilderness guide in the Florida Keys, southeastern Alaska, and Catalina Island of southern California. He enjoys exploring the natural world and sharing it with others. When not teaching, you might find him backpacking, scuba diving, or throwing the
frisbee.
|
 |
Alonso Mohedano Navarrete
México Instructor
Alonso was born in Mexico City on January 15th 1983. When he was 19 years old he came to La Paz to study Marine Biology at the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Sur.
He is now 24 years old, has finished college and has continued to live in La Paz studying and working with fossil corals. He loves swimming, snorkeling, SCUBA diving, cooking, dancing, and playing team sports, such as basketball and soccer. He spends most of his time with friends hanging out on the beach, at home working on research, or just playing with his pets
(a dog and two cats).
Although he is a huge reggae fan, he also likes other kinds of music. He worked for EPI last season as an intern, and now joins EPI as an instructor.
|
 |
Marisol Rueda Flores
México Instructor
Marisol is from Cuernavaca, Morelos, México. She obtained a degree in Biology at the Autonomous University of the State of Morelos. Her passion for the ocean, whales and dolphins took her to La Paz, B.C.S., México, where she recently completed a Master of Science in Management of Marine Resources while studying blue whales in the Gulf of California at CICIMAR.
She is delighted every time she hears a whale blow and sees their huge body emerging from the sea. Her other passions include dancing and scuba-diving! In her free time you can find Marisol practicing Pilates, learning to surf, reading and traveling. She looks forward to sharing her huge smile with you!
|
|
|
 |
