Current Board
Tsitsi McPherson
Past President
University of Alaska Fairbanks - Adjunct
Tsitsi McPherson is a Guyanese ecologist with a PhD and M.Sc. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Connecticut (USA) and B.A. in geography and biology from the University of Guyana, Turkeyen (Guyana). Tsitsi is formerly an Assistant Professor of Biology, State University of New York College at Oneonta. Tsitsi's research interests are in landscape scale biodiversity patterns and conservation planning that examines underlying political, economic, and social (socioeconomic and human rights) factors that impact conservation decision making. Tsitsi is also interested in understanding how pro-sustainability behaviours can be leveraged to tailor pro-conservation messages.
She has been involved with the LACA section for over a decade, first as a member of the section and later as LACA’s Director of Nominations and Chief Financial Officer She also served as the section representative on the SCB Policy Committee..She represented the section as the Co-Chair of the Equity, Inclusion and Diversity (EID) committee for the 2017, 2019, 2021, and 2023 ICCB providing continuity as SCB addresses issues of equity, inclusion and diversity.
Osvaldo Eric Ramirez Bravo
President
Universidad Autonoma de Puebla, Mexico
Eric Ramírez is a full-time researcher-professor at Universidad Autonoma de Puebla in central Mexico. He holds a Bachelor's degree in biology from Universidad de las Américas, Puebla, a Masters in Natural Resource Management from Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro and a PhD in Biodiversity Management from University of Kent. He has taken several courses on management of endangered species at Africam Safari and Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. His research interests cover several aspects of conservation biology, ranging from species biology to environmental education and citizen science. Currently, he directs several projects relating to carnivore conservation, dealing with distribution, ecology and management of otters and felids in central Mexico. He has received funding from National Geographic, Panthera, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and CONACYT. He has published numerous research articles in national and international journals and has given numerous posters and oral presentations in national and international conferences. He is part of the National System of Researchers, of the expert group on “conservation and sustainable use of the jaguar and other wild felids”, of the group on “conservation of tropical otter”, and of several professional groups at national and international levels.
Karla Pelz Serrano
President Elect
CBS Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Lerma, Mexico
Karla is a professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences at the Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana en Lerma, Mexico. She obtained a B.S. in Biology from the Universidad Autonoma de Queretaro, Mexico, a PhD in Natural Resources and Wildlife Management from the University of Arizona. During the last ten years, Karla has worked in wildlife and habitat conservation projects in northwestern Mexico and southwestern U.S., and seen first-hand the degradation of ecosystems to the point where they can no longer sustain native species. This is the reason why she is interested in the conservation and restoration of species and their habitat, and in the identification of important areas for the conservation of biodiversity. Karla has worked on projects for the conservation of the American beaver, black tailed prairie dogs, black-footed ferrets, black bear, and raptors.
Besides her research interests, she is also very interested in the development of new scientists. This is why she has taught different courses to transmit the importance of studying and conserving biodiversity. Teaching courses at the undergraduate and graduate level gave her the opportunity to show students how to generate research projects, how to carry them out and how to communicate their findings. Currently, as a professor at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Lerma, she has the opportunity to aid in the formation of young conservation biologists with a holistic view of the problems that biodiversity faces today. Karla is interested in conducting research on focal species in Mexico that require immediate conservation actions such as the axolotl, the volcano rabbit, flying squirrels, among others.
Estefany S. Guerra-Correa
Secretary
Estefany Sofía Guerra Correa is an Ecuadorian-Colombian biologist who obtained a bachelor degree in Biological Sciences from Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador. She is a PhD student at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia and member of the research team Animal Behaviour Group. She is passionate about reptiles biology, therefore, her research is focused on the thermal ecology, behavior and physiology of a group of lizards that inhabits the tropical Andes of Ecuador. She is LACA’s Secretary for the 2023-2025 term.
“I decided to join the SCB LACA Board because I want to expand my scientific network and get actively involved in conservation projects in the Latin American Region”
Nigel Noriega
Director of Communications
Nigel Noriega is founder and director of Sustainable Innovation Initiatives (www.sii-inc.org), a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization aimed at enabling ecologically sustainable development in tropical forest regions. Nigel was a research biologist until 2012, with prior work in neuroscience, ecology and endocrinology, including some of the earliest assessments of environmental endocrine disruptor effects on amphibian development. Nigel has also served as a biologist for the Endocrine Branch of the National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory at the US Environmental Protection Agency. Nigel grew up on the island of Trinidad, and has conducted field work in the Caribbean, east Africa and much of the United States. Nigel served as Chief Financial Officer for LACA from 2016-2017 He also negotiated the Request for Proposal, Country Bid, Memorandum of Understanding and served as Conference Manager of the inaugural regional conference for LACA (LACCCB 2018). Nigel has also served as Director of Communications for LACA since 2019.
Cristhian Clavijo
Director of Membership
Cristhian holds a PhD in Biological Sciences (Universidad de la República, Uruguay) specializing in freshwater bivalve conservation. To complement his studies and have a more comprehensive view of biodiversity conservation, he is pursuing a degree in Geography. He coordinated the team of researchers who wrote the Book of Priority Species for Conservation in Uruguay published in 2013. He has been an honorary collaborator of the National Museum of Natural History since 2005 and has participated in more than 50 biodiversity survey campaigns. He has participated in and in some cases coordinated multidisciplinary projects made up of biologists, physicists, artists, videographers and teachers. He has given more than 100 talks and workshops on freshwater invertebrates and conservation throughout Uruguay. For almost a decade he has been part of the boards of organizations that study invertebrates: the Malacological Society of Uruguay and InvBiota Uruguay, of which he is also a founder. In addition, he is a member of the IUCN mollusk specialist group. He is currently a teacher at Colegio Seminario (Montevideo) and Executive Director of the NGO Vida Silvestre Uruguay. He was Treasurer, Secretary and President of the SCB Southern Cone Chapter.
Estefania Sánchez Flores
Director of Education
Environmental Engineer from the Universidad de las Americas-Ecuador (2010), with a Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Conservation Biology from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (2016). She is currently pursuing a PhD in Natural Resources and Sustainable Management at the Universidad de Córdoba, Spain, and is a WWF Russell E. Train Education for Nature (EFN) Fellow. Since 2014, her research has focused on conservation and environmental education, utilizing art as an educational and awareness-raising tool. She is a Director of Education for SCB-LACA and is President of ¨Corporación Yemanyá- Agua y Conservación¨.
Enéas Ricardo Konzen
Director of Nominations
Professor of genetics and statistics at Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Centro de Estudos Costeiros, Limnológicos e Marinhos (CECLIMAR/UFRGS). Doctor of Sciences. Current director of Membership and Nominations in the LACA/SCB board. Main research interests: genetic conservation of endangered coastal plants and genetic education.
Amalia Bravo
Director of Operations & Programs
Bachelor’s degree in business administration, with a Master's degree in Business Management and Social Intervention. She has experience in institutional development, project management, international relations, inter-institutional coordination, and strategic planning.
Future Board Members
If you are interested in serving on the Latin America and Caribbean Region Board you must be an associate member or full member of SCB and an associate member or full member of the LACA Region.
Elections are typically held yearly for various positions. See descriptions of terms of reference for position. Each year section members receive an email about the open positions and the start of the election process. For more information about getting involved with this board, please contact lacabd@conbio.org.