Our Team

ROBYN APPLETON

Founder and President

Robyn has more than 20 years of experience in field research, studying bears and other wild animals with an eye toward improving conservation practices.   She grew up on Canada’s west coast and was always interested in bears and remembers spending summers with her parents in the alpine, looking for bear sign and watching bears eat.  Robyn earned a master’s degree from Simon Fraser University focused on bear research. She became interested in the little-known spectacled bears in Peru’s endangered dry forest.  Robyn is completing a doctoral thesis in applied conservation biology, using SBC data, at the University of British Columbia.

ALEXANDER MORE

Executive Director

As Executive Director, Alex leads SBC in achieving our vision and strategy to protect spectacled bears. He has a long-term commitment to protecting threatened ecosystems in northern Peru where he has been leading research and conservation programs since 2002. He has collaborated with communities and government authorities to create and manage community reserves and protected areas covering 350,000 hectares in northern Peru. Alex was born in southern Peru and studied biology at Universidad Nacional de Piura. Passionate about wildlife and nature since childhood, Alex is also an accomplished painter. His very first portrait was of a spectacled bear.

ISAI SANCHEZ

Finance and Operations Manager

Isai manages the Batán Grande Conservation Center, maintains SBC field databases and also reports when bears are missing, ill or injured. Isai grew up in the mountainside village of Molino Viejo and learned adobe brick building from his father. He heard about SBC in 2009 and volunteered to help build the Conservation Center.  Isai joined the field team in 2010, helping fit bears with GPS collars, tracking them and taking notes. Self-taught on computers, he took on the duties of entering the data collected by the team. Along the way, he attended English language classes at a college in Canada.

FRANCISO NOLBERTO AURICH TERRONES

Lawyer

Francisco helps local communities with land title issues and works with them to create private protected areas through SBC’s Forest Guardian Program. Francisco is from the town of Batan Grande, where the SBC Conservation Center is located. A socially minded person, Francisco is a leader in the community. He taught for more than 25 years at a local school and was president of numerous groups that worked to protect the cultural and ecological biodiversity of the region. He fought against illegal mining operations and for private land rights. In 2008, he approached SBC to learn more about its programs and volunteered his time and talents. He became the education coordinator for SBC and a full-time staffer in 2011.

SOLANCH VASQUEZ

Felti Program Coordinator

Solanch manages the daily operations of SBC’s Felti program that provides economic opportunities to women from communities near bear habitat. She also develops and monitors reforestation plans on SBC’s purchased land, contributing to dry forest ecosystem restoration and habitat enhancement. Solanch is a Forestry Engineer who was born in Huaraz but has lived most of her life in Chota - Cajamarca, both cities in the mountains of Peru. She recently completed her second degree in Environmental Engineering, which has expanded her knowledge in environmental conservation and wildlife protection.

ZAIDA AGUINAGA

Veterinarian

Dr. Zaida leads SBC’s veterinary program in remote communities near bear habitat, where she provides emergency and routine medical care for domestic animals and teaches residents about animal health. She also plays a key role in SBC’s GPS collaring program, managing bear care and sedation during collar placement. Her passion for animals, nature, and medicine led her to study veterinary medicine at the National University of Cajamarca, Peru. Zaida has completed several internships at wildlife rescue centers and zoos and spent five years working in a clinic specializing in dog and cat care. Zaida's involvement with conservation medicine began during field expeditions in northern Peru where she was responsible for sedation and care of wild cats and foxes during radio-collar placement. This experience sparked her dedication to this vital area of veterinary medicine.

JAVIER VALLEJOS GUERRERO

Field Photographer / Bear Tracker

Javier is an expert at tracking wildlife and knows the local forests and mountains. Javier worked at a nature preserve before joining Robyn Appleton in the search for spectacled bears in the equatorial dry forest in 2007. He is one of the best photographers on the SBC team. Javier grew up in the village of Platanar in northern Peru. He has been a hunter, known as the best animal tracker in the region, helping people throughout northern Peru find lost cattle, goats, horses or mules. Over his 20 years of hunting, Javier noticed a drastic decline in the deer population. He turned to wildlife conservation to use his skills for restoring the wildlife and environment he appreciated while growing up.

IRINA CERNA

Research and Conservation Specialist

Irina is a biologist from the National University of Trujillo, who joined SBC in 2022. She monitors and analyses camera trap data, plans and participates in field research and GPS collars deployment on bears and delivers environmental education to schools and villages near bear habitat. Before SBC, Irina worked with nanoparticles and bacteria, with laboratory animals, monitoring and rescuing stranded marine animals, and conducting surveys on sea otters, penguins and sea lions. While doing her thesis, Irina learned about the wonder of the dry forest without knowing that spectacled bears lived in that beautiful ecosystem, and now she is excited to be working with the species!

CARMEN TUCTO LLAGUENTO

Research and Conservation Specialist

Carmen is a biologist with a deep interest in animal behavior and human-wildlife interactions. She collects and analyzes wildlife data from camera traps, contributes to monitoring and research protocols, and participates in field expeditions to explore new bear habitat and deploy GPS collars. She applies her field experiences to create educational and social media content to raise awareness of conservation efforts. Upon joining SBC, she never imagined forming such a special bond with each bear she monitors, experiencing the same excitement with every detection. As a passionate advocate for wildlife and fieldwork, she hopes to continue supporting education, science, and conservation efforts. Carmen attended the Universidad Nacional Pedro Ruiz Gallo in Chiclayo, Peru.

JULIO CHERO JUAREZ

Parabiologist

Julio monitors camera traps, explores new terrain in bear habitat and participates in GPS collar deployments. He grew up in the town of Batán Grande, where the center is located. Julio was a cattle rancher in the dry forest for 20 years before joining SBC. His grandparents used to tell him stories about bears roaming the forest, but he never saw one until he went to work for SBC. Julio helped SBC in its early years get supplies to its base camps.

GEORGINA MCCANDLISH

Felti Sales Manager

Georgina’s journey with SBC began in 2014 when she started selling SBC feltis in her toy store in Squamish, BC. Always passionate about wildlife conservation, Georgina had dreamed of making a difference in the world. Eight years later, her love for nature, combined with her business expertise and extensive sales experience, led her to joining the SBC team as Felti Sales Manager. Since 2022, she has championed the sales of these unique products. It's the connection between the feltis, the amazing women who make them, and the bears that continue to capture her heart.

CORINA MONTALVAN

Felti Trainer and Quality Control Specialist

Corina approached SBC in 2010 after she heard about our work to protect spectacled bears and the dry forest. She got involved with the Felti program and within months, Corina was designing new Felti animals and perfecting the quality of the products. She became the Felti instructor, then quality control manager, then full-time program coordinator in 2017, by which time the women were making 15,000 products a year. In a two-year period, sales increased over 100 percent because of Corina’s effective training program and the improved quality of the products. Corina grew up in rural northwestern Peru and sees the program not only as a way for rural women like herself to improve their lives but also as a source of support for each other. She was awarded the Disney Conservation Hero award in 2019 for her important work on SBC’s Felti program.

PEPA AGUINAGA VALLEJOS

Materials Coordinator

As Materials Coordinator of SBC’s Felti program, she helps make the operation run smoothly -- from sourcing the wool to cleaning, carding and dyeing it. Pepa developed new techniques to increase the speed at which the wool is passed through the carding machine. She was among the first women involved in the Felti program and played an important role in its success. Pepa grew up in the village of Chancay Banos in the Andes Mountains. She was interested in weaving as a child and learned at a young age. She particularly liked making bags to carry food to market by donkey or horse.

JESSICA APPLETON

Community Outreach Coordinator

A retired healthcare professional, Jessica is an integral part of SBC’s success. She was a key fundraiser for the Batán Grande Conservation Center and was part of the Canadian volunteer team that helped build the center and staff housing. Jessica came up with the idea for SBC’s popular Felti program, which provides a marketable skill and income to women in rural and remote communities that own land with spectacled bear habitat. She held the first needle-felting workshop in 2010, teaching participants how to make bears, birds and other animal figures from locally sourced wool. Today, she continues her work with the Felti program, managing product design, production and marketing.

ROB APPLETON

Project Coordinator

Rob is retired from the international business world. His experience working with different cultures in Africa, Asia and other parts of the globe is an invaluable asset to SBC. He was instrumental in fundraising and managed construction of the Conservation Center in Batán Grande. Rob also participated in the construction of SBC’s remote outstation in Incahuasi to accommodate the field team during research in the montane forest. With his wife Jessica, he joins their daughter Robyn and son-in-law Ian in SBC’s wildlife conservation work.

IAN MARTIN

Ian has years of experience in the outdoors and in designing outdoor equipment. At SBC, Ian is responsible for the field equipment and works with staff on fundraising and marketing. Some of the most reliable backpacks used by the SBC team were designed by Ian, and he has helped the team install climbing ropes in Peru’s challenging mountain terrain. He co-founded the Spectacled Bear Conservation Society with his wife, Robyn Appleton, and her parents. He currently is co-founder and vice president of 7Mesh, a Canadian company that makes cycling gear.