Pabalelo Motswadi Botswana Program Assistant Instructor Biography Pabalelo was born and raised in Sankoyo village but has family roots from Khwai village. Pabalelo is from two different Okavango tribes, the Bayei and Bugakhwe tribes. He resided in wildlife management areas his entire life, where he grew up living with and coping with wild animals. Because…
Pablo Azua Contreras Patagonia Program Instructor Biography Pablo is a Chilean geologist, passionate about mountains and their processes. He studied geology at the University of Concepción, and later pursued studies in environmental legislation at the Catholic University of Temuco. He is currently enrolled in a master’s program in Territorial Planning and Geography at the Alberto…
Benjamin Medina Patagonia Program Instructor Biography Benjamin Medina received a BS in Natural Resources Engineering from the Universidad de Chile. His passion for nature began early in life, growing up on a farm in the Mediterranean Chilean Region. He has worked within local government promoting Urban Ecology and working with youth at risk, involving them…
Domini Bowen Botswana Program Instructor Biography Domini (she/her) graduated with a BSc in Zoology from The University of Edinburgh (2019) and then went on to read Conservation Science at The University of Queensland (2023). She is passionate about mitigating Human/Wildlife conflict and has worked as research assistant on projects in Patagonia to learn more about…
Ben Schmidt Patagonia Program Instructor Biography Ben received a BS in biology from Northwestern College and an MS in fisheries and wildlife science from Clemson University in South Carolina. He has worked as a stream surveyor in Oregon, a botanist in Utah and Michigan, an environmental educator in Costa Rica and Georgia, a GIS specialist…
Cameron Markovsky Patagonia Program Instructor Biography Cameron holds an MSc in Geography from the University of Utah and a BA in Earth Science and Math with a minor in Anthropology from Bowdoin College. He worked on glacier mass balance modeling in High Mountain Asia as a graduate student and on glaciology research projects as an…
Lauren Watine Conservation Scientist, Taku & Patagonia Program Instructor Biography Lauren is a wildlife and natural resources scientist. She earned her BS and MS in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation from the University of Florida, and a PhD in Natural Resource Management from the University of Tennessee. She has worked for NGOs, state and federal agencies,…
Claire Hoffmann Conservation Scientist, Project Development and Communications Specialist Biography Claire holds an MSc in Biodiversity, Conservation, and Management from the University of Oxford and a PhD in Fisheries and Wildlife from Michigan State University. Her previous work focused on identifying and overcoming barriers to conservation impact by improving communication, engagement, and research practices. She…
José Cruz San Martín Patagonia Program Field Coordinator/Instructor Biography José is a Forest Engineer from the University of Chile. His undergraduate research involved comparing southern beech wood with fossil records. He then worked with Lenga bush management at Tierra del Fuego Island. His work interests in sustainability and education led him to coordinate organic recycling…
Grace Stein Student Programs Assistant Biography Grace (she/her) graduated with a BSc in Conservation Biology and Biodiversity from the University of Vermont (2020). Since her graduation she has worked in outdoor leadership and education on a femme wildland fire crew, farms, and marine research and education boats. Grace is passionate about community and finds that it…