Dr Rebecca Smith

executive director

Becca obtained her undergraduate degree in Zoology from the University of Edinburgh, her Masters at Roehampton University and her PhD in Conservation Science from the University of Aberdeen. She has previously worked with captive and wild primates in Namibia, Panama and Puerto Rico. She studied the hooded capuchins of Laguna Blanca and has published several papers on their behaviour. She has presented her research at conferences in Asuncion, Chicago, Nairobi and Durham. She is a National Geographic Explorer and received the Lawrence Jacobsen Education Development Award from the International Primatological Society. She is currently studying Capuchin monkeys in San Rafael National Park, and the urban Howler monkeys of Pilar.

Jorge Ayala Santacruz

Education Coordinator

Jorge grew up in rural Paraguay close to Rancho Laguna Blanca. He joined Para La Tierra in 2010 as a forest guard after completing his forest guard training with Fundación Moisés Bertoni. In 2013, he started working with our environmental education programme and co-founded Voces de la Naturaleza in 2015. In 2016, he travelled to Mexico for training in participatory environmental education with HUNAB and received the Charles Southwick Conservation Education Commitment Award in 2019. In 2023, he participated in the International Visitors’ Leadership Program on Volunteerism and Civic Action.

Jorge is in charge of our Eco-Leadership for Sustainable Development Program and provides training in environmental education for the Peace Corps Paraguay. He’s also leading our research and conservation projects with the endemic Pilar tuco-tuco.

Wendy Kobrinsky

scientific director

Wendy is an Argentinian biologist who graduated from the University of Buenos Aires with a focus on animal physiology and neurosciences. She has always been interested in primates, a passion that deepened during her first job with capuchin monkeys in the summer of 2022 in Misiones, Argentina and again with capuchins in Iguazú National Park. She then joined the Owl Monkey Project in Formosa, Argentina. As well as supervising intern research projects, she is studying the urban howler monkeys with a focus on their ranging behaviour and group demographics in urban and non-urban habitats.

Daniela Blanco Prieto

volunteer and research supervisor

Daniela is a biologist who graduated from the University of Los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia. She is deeply committed to conservation and environmental education, with experience in botanical fieldwork, community engagement, and scientific research. Her academic background includes molecular research on sponge–algae symbiosis, which strengthened her understanding of ecological interactions across systems. She currently coordinates volunteer research activities, supporting long-term monitoring projects that bridge science, conservation, and local communities

Abril Daldoss

Intern and Research Supervisor

 Abril obtained her degree in biology with a specialization in ecology from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. She has always been passionate about animal behaviour and primatology, and had her first field experience with primates as a research assistant with Proyecto Caí, following wild capuchin monkeys in Iguazú National Park. She later returned to the park to carry out her undergraduate thesis on the interactions between tourists, capuchin monkeys and coatis, where she implemented an awareness campaign to discourage wildlife feeding. She now supervises intern research projects and is conducting her own study comparing the diet of howler monkeys in urban and wetland habitats.

Roberto Brizuela

Community support coordinator

Roberto is a member of the Indigenous Mbya Guaraní community Mberu Pirapo’i. Roberto has been supporting PLT’s work with the community for several years, receiving training as a tour guide and taking part in our economically beneficial reforestation programme. He joined the PLT team officially in 2025, caring for the community tree nursery to supply the reforestation programme.

Rocio Moreno

COCINERA

Rocio was born and grew up in Huamitá, a small village about an hour from Pilar. She moved to Pilar when she was 16 for school and work. Rocio has been part of our team since Para La Tierra moved to Pilar in 2017. She takes care of the house and the culinary well-being of our staff and interns. Next to her job, Rocio has been studying to finish her ‘Bachillerato’ in basic sciences.

Paul Smith

President

Paul obtained his undergraduate degree at University of Liverpool and his Masters at University of Southampton. He has been studying the fauna of Paraguay since 2003. He founded the online community faunaparaguay.com and has published over 100 articles on Paraguayan wildlife. He is a Board member of the conservation organisation Fundacíon Para La Tierra and is actively involved in inventory projects all over Paraguay. He is categorised as a Level 2 Investigator by PRONII/CONACYT.

Reina Rodriguez

board member

Reina has a bachelors and masters degree in Education Science and is the director of the Mberu Pirapo'i Mbya Guarani indigenous school. She is the head of Education Area 1 for Indigenous Education in Itapúa and is responsible for overseeing four Mbya Guaraní schools. Since 2018 she has been instrumental to PLT's work in Mberu Pirapo'i and is a fierce advocate for the rights of the Mbya Guaraní people.

Karina Atkinson

board member

Karina obtained her undergraduate degree from University of Glasgow, and Masters from Miami University. She is a Rolex Awards for Enterprise winner (2012), Young Alumnus of the Year (2013, University of Glasgow), Global Conservation Fellow (2015, Miami University) TEDx University of Glasgow Fellow (2016), and Woman of the Year (2017, Valle de Aosta). She is the co-founder of Para La Tierra, running projects and field stations in multiple locations in Paraguay. She has published widely, mostly in the field of herpetology, and is actively involved in science, conservation and education projects. She is categorised as a Level 1 Investigator by PRONII/CONACyT.

Dr. Pier Cacciali

HERPETOLOGY ADVISeR

Juana De Egea Elsam

botany adviser

Bolivar Rafael Garcete-Barrett

ENTOMOLOGY ADVISeR

Paul Smith

Ornithology adviser

Dr Rebecca Smith

Mammalogy adviser

Michelle VanCompernolle

ICHTHYOLOGY ADVISeR