People

Senior Leadership

	Gail Hearn, Director Dr. Hearn started BBPP in 1998 to protect Bioko's primate species. Her current research focuses on the population decline of primate species on Bioko Island due to bushmeat hunting. A professor in the Department of Biology at Drexel University, she received her bachelor's degree from Bryn Mawr College and a Ph.D. in protein biology from the Rockefeller University. She joined Drexel University in 2007.
	Tom Butynski, Senior Conservation Biologist Well-known conservation biologist and primatologist Tom Butynski joined BBPP in 2006. The author of over 100 research publications, Butynski's work focuses on mammalian and avian ecology, behavior, distribution and conservation status, especially African primates, antelopes, rodents and raptors. He serves as vice-chair for Africa of the IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group, Africa Section, and senior editor of the journal African Primates.
	Shaya Honarvar, Research Director Dr. Shaya Honarvar is a conservation biologist who has worked on Bioko Island since 2008. She is the Research Director of BBPP and a Research Associate at Drexel University. Shaya completed her M.Sc. in 2004 at the University of Pennsylvania and her Ph.D. in 2007 at Drexel University, working on the nesting ecology of olive ridley marine turtles in Central America. Her current research focuses on population dynamics of marine turtles nesting on Bioko and on physiological/ecological aspects of gas exchange of their eggs. The research team she manages comprises 6-10 volunteers working in a remote camp for 5 months each year, as well as over 30 local field assistants. Shaya has started two ongoing conservation projects on Bioko. The Drill Project is a conservation initiative focused on producing a wildlife documentary on the endangered drill monkey, as well as collecting behavioral data for this species. She also established the Bioko Heirloom, a micro-enterprising project helping local women of small villages handcraft jewelry from indigenous materials. Shaya teaches a field methods course to American study abroad students as well as students from the National University of Equatorial Guinea. Her other responsibilities include co-advising Drexel University graduate students who conduct research on Bioko Island.
	Sally Vickland, Program Coordinator Sally Vickland joined BBPP in 2007. With a background in administration and fluency in both Spanish and English, she coordinates with UNGE and manages BBPP's activities on Bioko Island.

Affiliated Faculty

	Jose Manuel Esara Echube, Dean of UNGE School of Environmental Studies Esara has been with BBPP since its inception in 1998 as a facilitator of on-island operations. He now also assists with the study abroad program. At UNGE, he is Dean of the School of Environmental Studies.
	Eusebio Ondo Nguema Nfuma, UNGE School of Environmental Studies Eusebio has degree in Agronomics from UNGE and is currently finishing up a second degree in Environmental Studies while also studying Law. He works at UNGE as the secretary of the Department of the Biodiversity and Conservation of the Environment. Eusebio participated twice on the annual Caldera Expedition, and served during two semesters as the UNGE faculty member in-residence during the Field Research in Tropical Ecology Course taught by Dr. Tom Butynski at the Moka Wildlife Center.
	Miguel Angel Ela Mba, UNGE School of Environmental Studies Ela Mba received a 2006 master's degree in environmental education from Arcadia University with the help of a Chevron Texaco Corp. scholarship. He has since returned to UNGE where he teaches courses in the School of Environmental Studies. He was among the first UNGE professors to participate in the annual Caldera Expedition and has been a regular participant since then (2000-2004; 2007-2009).
	Michael O’Connor, Drexel University Biology Department
	Mitoha Ondo o Ayekaba, Drexel Study Abroad Professor Mitoha Ondo o Ayekaba received a B.A. in Business Administration from the Palma Business School in Mallorca, Spain, a B.A. in International Economics from Vic University in Barcelona, Spain, as well as a Master of the Arts in Police Studies (MAPS) from the University of Washington-Bothell in 2009. After studying in Spain and the United States, Mitoha has since returned to his home country of Equatorial Guinea where he is a prolific writer and works as the business coordinator at Marathon Oil.

Bruno Tsobgni Dongmo, Drexel Study Abroad Professor

Bruno Tsobgni Dongmo holds a Licence Bilingual in English, French and Spanish from the University of Yaoundé. He has spent many years studying the teaching of language and also works as a teacher of English, Spanish, and French. Bruno is a Cameroonian citizen who has lived in Malabo for many years and is currently the head of the French department at a private school in Malabo as well as a freelance translator.

Moka Wildlife Center

Prospero Rivas Biaka, Manager, Moka Wildlife Center Prospero is currently finishing up his thesis in Geology at UNGE, but has been involved with the BBPP since 2011, as part of the Gran Caldera Expedition and as a student at Moka, where he studied the abundance of chameleons in different habitat types. In his free time, Prospero enjoys playing soccer and teaching.

Barrett Miles, Logistics Coordinator, Moka Wildlife Center Barrett graduated from St. Lawrence University with a major in Environmental Studies and Economics and a minor in African Studies. While at St. Lawrence, he was president of the Outing Club and participated in the Kenya Semester Program. In Kenya, he joined a Kenya Marine and Fisheries research team studying tropical mangrove ecosystems. After graduation, Barrett moved to the western U.S. to pursue his passion for the outdoors. He became a certified EMT and began working as a professional ski patroller. He has been chasing the previous five winters from Montana, where he worked at a commercial ski operation to New Zealand, where he was based at a small non-profit mountain. In Tanzania, he has led groups of high school students on community service projects, safaris, and volunteered with the Gombe School for Environment and Society. Barrett has also traveled in Indonesia, southeast Asia, and explored the wilderness of northern Ontario by canoe.

Research

	Drew T. Cronin, Ph.D. Candidate, Drexel University Drew first traveled to Bioko as an undergraduate student in 2005. After completing his bachelor’s degree at Arcadia University, he then served as the Study Abroad Resident Director for the 07-08 academic year. Drew began work towards his Ph.D. in Environmental Science in the fall of 2008, focusing on the effects of anthropogenic pressures on primate abundance.
	Patrick McLaughlin, Ph.D. Candidate, Drexel University Patrick majored in Biology and Environmental Studies at St. Lawrence, where he developed an interest in ecological field research and sustainable development. He was awarded a University Fellowship and The Crowell Summer Award in Field Biology, allowing him to pursue independent research in the Bahamas where he studied juvenile fish populations, spawning aggregations, and long-range larval dispersal. As a senior, Patrick studied at the University of Nairobi, Kenya, focusing on conservation, culture, and development in East Africa. In 2006, Patrick participated in the Mongol Rally, a charity car rally across the 10,000 mile expanse from England to Mongolia to raise money for impoverished communities in Africa and Asia. He has worked as a marine ecology instructor in the Florida Keys, a fisheries technician for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service in Vermont, a snow-coach guide and naturalist in Yellowstone National Park, and as director of the environmental education program for the Grand Teton Lodge Company. He currently works during the summer for National Geographic Student Expeditions, having led programs in Australia in 2009 and Bar Harbor, ME in 2010. In 2011, he will lead NG expeditions in Montana and New Zealand. In January of 2009, Patrick began working as a research assistant for the Bioko Biodiversity Protection Program (BBPP) in Equatorial Guinea (West Africa), studying the endemic and endangered primates of Bioko Island’s volcanic calderas. Patrick later joined the BBPP to pursue his Ph.D. in Environmental Science through Drexel University with BBPP director and Drexel professor Dr. Gail Hearn.
	Jake Owens, Ph.D. Candidate, Drexel University After graduating from undergrad with a B.S. in Biology from the Richard Stockton College of NJ, Jake spent two years assisting on a variety of field projects. He has worked extensively with diamondback terrapins and many bird species in remote areas of the US, Australia, and Chile. In the winter of 2007, he participated on the 2008 Caldera Expedition and subsequently joined Dr. Hearn’s lab at Drexel University. Jake has spent over a year on Bioko since his first trip and has fallen in love with the adventure, people, terrain, and ecosystems packed within this small island. The abundance and diversity of all types of animals found there is incredible and the lure of discovery awaits around every turn.
	Demetrio Bocuma Meñe, Ph.D. Student, Drexel University Demetrio’s first involvement with the BPPP was as a participant in the fall 2006 study abroad program on Bioko, where he conducted research on the medicinal uses of the plants of Bioko Island. In January 2007, he began working for the BBPP as manager of the BBPP/UNGE computer lab at UNGE and bushmeat market data entry. In September 2007, Demetrio was promoted within the organization to the role of Assistant Manager of the Moka Wildlife Center. As Assistant Manager, he helped coordinate all the different activities that take place at or around the center. In 2009, he was promoted again and was made the manager of the Moka Wildlife Center. Since the summer of 2008, he has been traveling back and forth to the United States to improve his English knowledge at Drexel University’s English Language Center on a BBPP scholarship. Most recently, Demetrio was granted another opportunity from the BBPP, this time to continue his studies as a student in the Environmental Sciences Ph.D. program at Drexel University, where he has been since August 2010.
	Elliott Chiu, B.S./M.S. Student, Drexel University Elliott is pursuing an M.S. in Environmental Science while simultaneously completing his bachelor’s degree in Biology at Drexel University. Research towards his master’s thesis will focus on the feeding ecology of two chameleon species on Bioko Island.
	Miguel Angel Perez Perez, Research Assistant Miki was a participant on the 2013 Gran Caldera Expedition. His research focuses on tropical plants and has done extensive collection and identification in order to deposit specimens in the main herbaria around the world. Miki studied Biology in Mexico and worked at the Botany Department of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University in Philadelphia. He hopes to pursue a PhD in Environmental Sciences.
	Reginaldo Aguilar Biacho, Research Associate Reginaldo collects bushmeat market data, and has worked for the BBPP since 2001.
	Javier Pedro Rivas Echue, Research Assistant Javier finished high school at Colegio Claret in Malabo before entering the Geology program at UNGE, where he wrote his thesis on characterizing the sediment in the Bay of Luba. At the Moka Wildlife Center he has researched the Leguminosae family of plants as well as the chameleons of the area. Javier manages BBPP’s bushmeat market research and tissue sample collection.

Student Life

David Montgomery, Resident Director Following David’s graduation from Grinnell College in 2010, he spent a year coordinating the environmental education activities for Gobabeb, a research station in the Namib Desert of Namibia. He has worked on Bioko as the Resident Director for Drexel University’s study abroad program in tropical biodiversity and conservation since January 2012. David is a certified Wilderness First Responder, an accomplished long distance runner, and once rode his bicycle across the U.S.

Heidi Rader, Student Coordinator Heidi began studying the sea turtles of Bioko Island in 2004 while working on her master’s degree in Environmental Education from Arcadia University. She continues to work with the sea turtles as a research assistant for BBPP. Heidi also lends her support with the Drexel study abroad program on Bioko Island and is active in BBPP’s community outreach program. She participated in the annual Caldera expedition in 2006, 2008, and in 2010.

Advisors

	Kathy King, MEGI Liason & Drexel Study Abroad Professor Kathy arrived in Malabo in 2010 to accompany her husband in his expatriate assignment. Immediately, she became involved with the BBPP and the Study Abroad Program as a guest lecturer on “The Economics of the Oil Industry.” Beginning in Fall 2011 she will teach the course “Society and the Environment” attended by both American and Equatoguinean university students.
	Mary Johnson, MEGI Mom (and Liaison) Mary Johnson (with her husband Pete) served as the official MEGI-Mom for more than 2 years. Her support services ranged from comforting sick study abroad students to comforting disgruntled BBPP leadership, all served up with great Tex-Mex food and Oklahoma hospitality. Mary is pictured here with Moka guide Esteban Mualeri.
	Jennifer Seale, Advisor and Editor Although she no longer lives in Malabo, Jennifer advises and supports BBPP in a number of ways. She participated in the 2005 Caldera expedition, and managed the Moraka Playa Camp during the 2008 Caldera expedition. Recently, she has been editing the reports of students and scientists working with BBPP to achieve a uniform style and greater accessibility.

Bioko Heirloom Project

Amy Stoltzfus Amy has shared interests in fine arts and fashion design. During her studies in Fashion Marketing, she co-produced the “Relief for Haiti Fashion Show 2010” event, following her New York Rep work for Australian childrenswear company “The Scoop”. Amy was introduced to Bioko Heirloom and BBPP through Shaya Honarvar’s vision for a self-sustaining micro-enterprise that employs and supports the women of Ureca. Amy designed among the women and promoted concepts that involved traditional aspects known to them with new applications shared with them. While in Bioko, Amy worked for the people to gain familiarity with the Urecano work and now continues these efforts in the states.

Kendall Fleming Kendall is a Florida native currently studying at Drexel University for a Bachelors of Science in the Fashion Design program. In her Sophomore year she was introduced to the Bioko Heirloom project and pursued being a part of it. She works behind the scenes on production and marketing of the Bioko Heirloom project.

Volunteers

Halle Choi, Research Assistant Halle has been involved with the BBPP since 2012 and is currently assisting with bushmeat data anaylsis and updating the range maps for Bioko's primate species.