Mesoamerica - Staff Profiles

Claudia Camacho, Regional Coordinator

Claudia received a BSc degree in Biology at Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo León, Mexico in 2001 and an MSc in Ethnobotany at the University of Kent in Canterbury in 2003. Her dissertation and field research evaluated the contribution of home-gardens to the conservation of medicinal plants among the Quichua in Amazonian Ecuador. Her work experience includes evaluating and promoting urban and rural traditional medicine as well as medicinal plant diversity in northeastern Mexico. She is interested in using local plant diversity and traditional medicine to improve community nutrition and health care, and in promoting community capacities for natural resource conservation. Claudia has field experience in both northern and southern Mexico and speaks Spanish and English fluently.

Carlos del Campo, Regional Coordinator

Carlos received a BSc degree in Psychology at Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, México in 2001 and an MSc in Environmental Anthropology at the University of Kent in Canterbury in 2003. His dissertation and field research evaluated the impact of indigenous organizations on agricultural knowledge transmission in Pastaza, Amazonian Ecuador. He is interested in the benefits of eco-therapy for conservationist organizations, in developing web platforms for conservation and biocultural diversity-related NGOs, and in collaborating with rural communities to strengthen their technical and organizational capacities for conservation. Carlos has field experience in both northern and southern Mexico and speaks Spanish, French and English fluently.

Irma Juan Carlos, Field Coordinator

Irma, an Indigenous Chinantec from the village of San Vicente Arroyo Jabali, Oaxaca Mexico, received a BSc at the Instituto Tecnologico Agropecuario in San Juan Bautista Tuxtepec, Oaxaca Mexico in 2002 and a MSc degree in Management and Conservation of Tropical Forests and Biodiversity at the Centro Agronomico Tropical de Investigacion y Enseñanza, Turrialba Costa Rica in 2005. Her work experience includes rural development and the elaboration of productive projects in villages in the state of Oaxaca. She has participated in initiatives for the National Institute for Indigenous Peoples (CDI in Spanish) and the Environmental and Natural Resources Secretariat (SEMARNAT in Spanish). In 2009 Irma joined the GDF Mesoamerica team as a field coordinator. She speaks Chinantec and Spanish fluently.