Home / Our Story & Mission

Our Story & Mission
and the team that make it happen

Mission Statement

The mission of The Leatherback Trust is to protect leatherback turtles, other endangered sea turtles, freshwater turtles, and their ecosystems through conservation, research, management, and education.

Turning Mission into Action

Every day, this mission takes shape through work at the beach, in the field, and in the communities who call these nesting sites home.

  • Conservation, research, and management at leatherback and other sea turtle nesting beaches and their ecosystems worldwide
  • Scientific support for researchers and students studying and conserving sea turtles at nesting beaches
  • Community partnership, supporting local conservation projects in the communities at and near nesting beaches
  • Training and education for people living in countries where sea turtles nest
  • Professional development for the next generation of sea turtle biologists and conservationists
  • Land protection, supporting the purchase and protection of land on and near leatherback and other sea turtle nesting beaches
  • Field infrastructure, supporting the establishment, construction, and operation of biological stations and information centers on and near nesting beaches

Leaders

James R. Spotila, Ph.D
Chairman of the Board

Dr. Spotila has been studying and saving sea turtles since 1978. In 1978 he led the team that successfully completed the first sonic and radio telemetry study of sea turtles, discovering that green turtles exhibited regional endothermy while swimming. In 1980 his team discovered that temperature determined the sex of incubating sea turtle embryos — a finding published in Science that revolutionized the field. He has published over 200 scientific articles and trained 96 MS and Ph.D. students. In 1994 he and Frank Paladino helped establish Parque Nacional Las Baulas in Costa Rica, and in 2000 they established The Leatherback Trust.

Frank V. Paladino, Ph.D.
President

Dr. Paladino has been studying and saving sea turtles since 1989, when he led the team that measured the metabolic rate of leatherback turtles at Tortuguero, Costa Rica. Since then he has led efforts to track leatherback migration using satellite telemetry. He is the Schrey Professor & Director of the Center for Marine Conservation & Biology at Purdue University Fort Wayne, and leads the science team studying nesting turtles at Las Baulas Park. He helped form The Leatherback Trust with Dr. Spotila and has led the consolidation of Las Baulas Park.

Staff

elizabeth-solano

Elizabeth Solano Pacheco
Costa Rica Director

Elizabeth has served TLT since 2009, using her legal training and international relations background to coordinate advocacy work for the conservation of marine resources, the protection of marine turtles, and the consolidation of Las Baulas National Park. She is TLT’s primary liaison with the Costa Rican Government, Congress, and other NGOs. She and the Costa Rica team have an office in San José when they’re not out at Playa Grande.

Bibi-Santidrian

Pilar “Bibi” Santidrián Tomillo, Ph.D.
Program Science Director

Bibi liaises with all scientists to meet research objectives, ensure strong implementation in the field, and develop field protocols to maximize conservation outcomes. She has worked with sea turtles for 17 years and has been part of the Leatherback Trust team since 2000. Her main research lines are population biology, nesting ecology, and conservation biology of leatherback turtles.

Elise_Sturrup

Elise Sturrup
Development Director

Elise Sturrup is TLT’s Director of Development. She holds a B.S. in Marine Biology from Georgia Southern University and spent six years shaping international policy on shipping emissions at the ICCT. Since joining TLT in 2025, she brings that same blend of science and strategy to building lasting support for sea turtle conservation.

Chelsea-durr

Chelsea Durr
Postdoctoral Scientist

Dr. Durr has been studying sea turtles with the Leatherback Trust since 2012. Her research has focused on spatial ecology, foraging ecology, and ecophysiology of sea turtles, with fieldwork in Central America and West Africa. She has published dozens of scientific papers and mentored undergraduate and graduate students.

Veronica

Veronica Valverde Cantillo
Costa Rica Science Director

Veronica is a Costa Rican marine biologist who began working with sea turtles in 2015 as an undergraduate. Her research focuses on sea turtle ecology across leatherback, green, olive ridley, and hawksbill turtles, from nesting beaches to foraging sites. Her current role allows her to oversee scientific collaborations and student research while leading her own projects, and she also works closely with the community organization Equipo Tora Carey.

miriam

Myriam Norori Gadea
Executive Assistant to the Costa Rica Director

Myriam serves as Executive Assistant to TLT’s Costa Rica Director, supporting the coordination of administrative operations, logistics, and communications for the organization’s Costa Rica programs from TLT’s San José office.

Jana-Williams

Jana Williams
Accountant

Jana manages TLT’s financial recordkeeping and reporting as the organization’s Accountant, supporting the organization’s fiscal accuracy and accountability to donors and funders.

Laura-Jean

Laura Jean Rosales
Outreach Coordinator and Playa Grande Station Manager

Laura serves as TLT’s Outreach Coordinator and Playa Grande Station Manager, working alongside Costa Rica Director Elizabeth Solano Pacheco to lead the organization’s community school partnerships and local outreach initiatives.

Carl Sanmar
Social Media Coordinator

Carla manages TLT’s social media and virtual community outreach. Also an avid wildlife photographer, she captures, creates, and curates much of TLT’s content.

Field Team

2026-2027 Season

 

Ashley Chase (Season lead)

Ashley Chase is The Leatherback Trust’s project coordinator this season and a Master’s student at Purdue University Fort Wayne, where she studies the migratory paths of leatherback sea turtles. Raised in Florida, she began working with sea turtles at age seven. She earned a B.S. in Biology from the University of Central Florida, completing four seasons of research with the Marine Turtle Research Group, before joining The Leatherback Trust as a field biologist.

Daniel Cutrim (Season lead)

Daniel Cutrim is The Leatherback Trust’s assistant project coordinator this season. A Brazilian biologist and first-generation university graduate, he has dedicated his career to sea turtle conservation. He earned his BSc through studies in Brazil and at Washington State University as part of the Brazil Scientific Mobility Program, completed an internship at the University of Florida’s Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research, and went on to earn a Master’s degree in Animal Biology. Daniel has worked on marine conservation projects in Brazil, the United States, Mexico, and Costa Rica, with interests spanning sea turtle behavior, ecology, pathology, reproduction, and community-based conservation.

Orlaith Kelly

Orlaith Kelly is a nature lover who spends most of her time looking at the sea, the sky, or the sand. After earning a BSc in Psychology, she returned to her roots and is now building a career in marine biology, with a Master’s degree on the horizon. She previously spent two seasons in Kefalonia, Greece, protecting Mediterranean loggerhead turtles, and joins The Leatherback Trust to work with new species and support its research.

Benjamín de la Barrera

Benjamín de la Barrera is a recent Marine Biology graduate of Universidad Católica del Norte in Coquimbo, Chile. Growing up in a country so closely tied to the ocean led him naturally to marine biology, and in university he found fieldwork and conservation the most meaningful parts of his studies. His season with The Leatherback Trust is his first full taste of life as a field biologist, and he hopes it is just the beginning of the journey.

Marcela Peña

Marcela Peña is a Marine Biology graduate of Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur in Mexico. She has worked in sea turtle conservation in Costa Rica and Mexico with green, olive ridley, and hawksbill turtles, supporting research, volunteer coordination, environmental education, and community engagement. She is passionate about protecting marine ecosystems through science, collaboration, and hands-on fieldwork.

Jack Salinetti

Jack Salinetti grew up in Falls Church, Virginia, and earned a B.S. in Marine Science, concentrating in Biological Oceanography, from the University of South Carolina. Along the way, he interned at the Riverbanks Zoo aquarium and studied abroad at the University of Queensland in Australia. He went on to work as an environmental educator in Virginia state parks, then as a snorkeling guide and whale watching naturalist on Oʻahu. Joining The Leatherback Trust fulfills his long-held goal of working in wildlife conservation.

Noelia Martínez García

Noelia Martínez García is a Master’s student in Marine Biology at the University of Algarve in Portugal and is completing her thesis research with The Leatherback Trust this season. Raised in a coastal city in northern Spain, she earned a B.S. in Biology, with minors in Chemistry and Marine Biology, from Thomas More University in Kentucky, where she studied on academic and tennis scholarships. Outside of science, she loves the beach, sports, music, and travel.

2025–2026 SEASON

Olivia Bowers

Tom Davies

Martha O’Keefe

Laura Fuentes-Tejada

Ellen Broadfield

Jessica Burt

Holly White

Board of Directors

Thomas-Elzey

Thomas J. Elzey, MBA
Treasurer

Mr. Elzey is President of the Elzey Consulting Group, LLC in Philadelphia, PA. He is Chair of the Finance and Investment Committee of The Leatherback Trust and is responsible for overseeing financial aspects of its activities, with prior leadership experience at Howard University, Drexel University, The Citadel, and South Carolina State University.

Maggie-Kruesi

Margaret Kruesi, Ph.D.
Secretary

Dr. Kruesi was a founding member of The Leatherback Trust in 2000. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and is an expert in folklore and folklife. She has been active in developing the strategies used by The Leatherback Trust in conserving sea turtles in Costa Rica and in consolidating Las Baulas Park.

Hal-Avery

Harold W. Avery, Ph.D.
Vice President for Ecology

Dr. Avery has been studying turtles and tortoises for over 40 years, including leading work on the biology and conservation of the desert tortoise with the Bureau of Land Management and USGS. He has the lead in developing and maintaining conservation easement projects for The Leatherback Trust.

ShayaHonarvar

Shaya Honarvar, Ph.D.
Board Member

Dr. Honarvar is Director of the Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit in the College of Natural Sciences at the University of Hawaii. She led studies of leatherback turtle nesting on Bioko Island and has extensive conservation experience in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Equatorial Guinea, and the US.

eduardo_jimez

Eduardo Carillo Jimenez, Ph.D.
Board Member

Dr. Carrillo is an Académico at the Universidad Nacional, Heredia, Costa Rica, and one of the world’s experts on jaguars. He has published 56 scientific articles and carried out activities supporting protected areas throughout Central America.

Bob-Raymar

Robert, JD Raymar, JD
Board Member

Mr. Raymar is a managing partner of Hellring Lindeman Goldstein & Siegal in Roseland, NJ. A founding member of The Leatherback Trust, he has provided guidance for its conservation activities, fundraising, international relations, and intellectual property matters.

John-Spotila

John Spotila, JD
Board Member

The Honorable John Spotila is CEO of Global Cause Foundation. A founding member of The Leatherback Trust, he served under President Clinton as Administrator of OIRA at OMB and as General Counsel of the Small Business Administration, and has provided guidance for all Trust activities since its founding.

VincentSaba

Vincent Saba, Ph.D.
Board Member

Dr. Saba is the lead Climate Scientist at NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center. He has published over 58 scientific articles on the biology and conservation of sea turtles and fishes, and has experience leading the research team at Playa Grande.

kate

Kate Mansfield, Ph.D.
Board Member

Dr. Mansfield is a Professor and Director of the UCF Marine Turtle Research Group, with a research program spanning sea turtle biology, ecology, behavior, and conservation across all sea turtle life stages, from eggs to adults. She has published over 45 scientific research articles, and her field sites include long-term nesting beach and coastal research programs in central Florida, along with oceanic “lost years” tracking work in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Oceans.

Nan Kirlin, BA
Board Member

JanoveSteve

Steve Janove, JD
Board Member

Contributing Scientists

Mason Hersey, MA

Oscar Soule, Ph.D.

Nathan Robinson, Ph.D.

Trevor Proctor

Tera Dornfeld

Stephen J. Morreale, Ph.D.

Dora Pinou, Ph.D.

Pamela Plotkin, Ph.D.

Richard Reina, Ph.D.

Ashley Chase

Keilor Enrique Cordero

Former Staff

In recognition of past service

Gisselle Vargas

Jesús Suarez

Randall Arauz, B.S.

Lily Anderson

YiWynn Chan

Davis Coffey

Daniel Cutrim

Sierra Hagen

Carolina Santoro Perez

Brendan Harris

Ruth Doñate Ordóñez

Megan Harvey