Staff

Roberto Wolf Webels, Executive Director
Roberto has been dedicated to animal care since childhood, when he volunteered at the Chapultepec Zoo in Mexico City. After studies in philosophy and veterinary medicine, he held curatorial positions at Africam Safari Zoo in Puebla, Tamatán Zoo in Tamaulipas, and served as the director of fauna at El Nido sanctuary in Ixtapaluca. Roberto participated in conservation advisory groups for the Mexican and U.S. governments related to the Mexican gray wolf, ocelot, and California condor. With an emphasis on wolf reintroduction, he worked for SEMARNAT (Mexico’s federal wildlife agency) and CONANP (natural protected areas commission), including experience with binational conservation in Sonora. As executive director since 2021, Roberto continues the Northern Jaguar Project’s work to create cooperative solutions for the conservation of jaguars.

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Jeffrey Tauzin, Administrative Manager
Jeffrey has a wealth of customer service and administrative experience, having worked more than two decades in event production, travel and tourism promotion, news production, and software training – most recently, with Epic Rides and Madden Media. With a B.A. in English and a B.A. in Journalism from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Jeffrey has worked in the non-profit sector with the Boy Scouts of America, American Red Cross, and The Ability Experience. A newcomer to the conservation world, he joined our team in 2021 and is looking forward to learning Spanish and visiting the Northern Jaguar Reserve. Jeffrey enjoys spending time with his family, mountain biking, Brazilian drumming, and science fiction.

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Carmina Gutiérrez González, Ph.D., Research Coordinator
Carmina received her M.S. in 2008 from the Instituto de Ecología, studying mammalian carnivore communities and camera trapping in arid ecosystems. She particularly likes to work with GIS, landscape ecology, and population dynamics related to carnivore species, and has led camera training for the Yaqui community in the Sierra Bacatete. Carmina was hired on the Northern Jaguar Reserve in 2008, and in 2016, received her Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from the University of Querétaro based on her jaguar research on the reserve and Viviendo con Felinos ranches. She has participated in jaguar and carnivore projects in Querétaro, Sonora, Sinaloa, Jalisco, and Belize. Carmina finds each trip to the reserve to be a new adventure with its ever-changing and unique wilderness landscape.

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Miguel Gómez Ramírez, Reserve Manager
Miguel has worked with wildlife conservation projects in Querétaro, Sinaloa, Jalisco, Colima, Chihuahua, and Sonora. He enjoys nature photography and loves spending time in the field. Miguel previously collaborated in training the Yaqui indigenous community in the use of motion-triggered cameras, confirming jaguar presence in the Sierra Bacatete. He also worked with Naturaleza y Cultura Sierra Madre to design a camera monitoring strategy to study jaguars near Alamos. Miguel began working on the Northern Jaguar Reserve in 2008. In 2015, he received his M.S. in Biological Resources from the University of Querétaro focused on ocelot densities on the reserve and Viviendo con Felinos ranches.

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Heracleo “Laqui” Duarte López, Field Technician
Laqui started as a resident vaquero on the Northern Jaguar Reserve, along with his father, brother, and nephew. He has assisted visiting researchers since 2010, with a particular interest studying birds on the reserve. Laqui is trained in camera placement and maintenance, and today is responsible for checking motion-triggered cameras on the Northern Jaguar Reserve and Viviendo con Felinos ranches. He also has experience with restoration techniques and tractor operation, and helps with gabion construction and invasive species removal as available. His son, José Ezequiel, participates in our Eco-Guardian program. Laqui is a recipient of the Disney Conservation Hero award.

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Federico Mora Carrillo, Field Biologist
Federico received a B.S. in Biology from the Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco. He has worked on carnivore projects, primarily jaguar and Mexican gray wolf, in Sonora, Chihuahua, Querétaro, Jalisco, Campeche, and Tabasco, where he perfected the handling of motion-triggered cameras. He has additional training in bird, mammal, amphibian, and reptile identification. Federico joined our team in 2019 and loves to work in the field. He spends a lot of time tracking animals and looking for footprints to make unique plaster molds.

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Braulio Duarte López, Vaquero
Braulio is the eldest of our vaquero Laco’s sons and inherited his father’s work ethic and knowledge. He has an inner drive to work hard as a skilled albañil (handyman) and produces quality results. As a fulltime vaquero on the Northern Jaguar Reserve since 2015, Braulio builds with adobe, wood, and stone, collects rocks to make gabions, helps repair and install fencing, and assists with motion-triggered camera maintenance as needed. Braulio likes to spend time working as a leather artisan, making belts, scabbards, and repairing saddles.

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Braulio Duarte Arvayo, Vaquero
The younger Braulio enthusiastically joined our field team in 2017. He rapidly developed the skills to help with motion-triggered camera operation, as well as a passion and knowledge for wildlife. In addition to maintenance and restoration activities, Braulio helps with biological monitoring. While working on the Northern Jaguar Reserve, he has overcome his fear of snakes and can handle non-venomous reptiles, if needed, to move them out of harm’s way.

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Heracleo “Laco” Duarte Robles, Vaquero
Laco, who works alongside his sons and grandson, patrols the Northern Jaguar Reserve to keep trespassers out and maintains fences to prevent wandering cattle from coming in. He is a traditional Sonoran vaquero, originally from Arivechi, and worked as the lead vaquero on these ranches since 1982. Laco has seen jaguars on more than a dozen occasions and knows this terrain better than anyone. He is also a local artisan and makes traditional leather lassos.

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Helí Coronel Arellano, Ph.D., Photo Database Technician
Helí received a bachelor’s degree in Biology from the Universidad Autónoma de Hidalgo and later studied at the Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, where he received his M.S. and Ph.D. in Biological Sciences. Helí’s primary interests are related to medium and large mammal ecology and conservation, and he has worked with more than 20 projects involving Mexican gray wolf, jaguar, black bear, white-tailed deer, and gray fox. He has experience in natural protected areas as well as urban environments. Following completion of a post-doctoral study at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Helí joined our team to share his passion for wildlife in 2020.

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Blanca Napoles Trujillo, Environmental Educator
Blanca founded a nonprofit environmental education organization, Conciencia y Educación Ambiental in 2004. Today she uses her training as an environmental educator to make a difference in the communities and habitats where jaguars live. Blanca previously worked for the Mexican forestry agency CONAFOR, and like her sister Santa, is a certified environmental interpreter by the National Association for Interpretation. She is the coordinator of Conciencia y Educación Ambiental and has worked in urban and rural areas throughout Sonora and along the Gulf of California to promote environmental awareness. As part of our team since 2016, Blanca works to strengthens local involvement with conservation projects.

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Santa Napoles Trujillo, Ph.D., Environmental Educator
Santa joined our team in 2016, and she excels at approaching ranchers from a place of collaboration and problem solving. Along with her sister Blanca, Santa designed and implemented the first environmental education program for jaguar conservation in Sonora in 2006. She previously worked as ecology director for the Municipio of Guaymas and as manager of the Natural Protected Area in the Estero del Soldado. Santa has been a member of the advisory council for sustainable development at SEMARNAT since 2008. She is the executive director of Conciencia y Educación Ambiental and earned her Ph.D. in Conservation and Management of the Natural Environment from the Universidad Internacional de Andalucía.