Expedition Leaders
Mexican Marine Conservation Expedition in the Caribbean Sea

Daniel Ponce-Taylor - Country Director - Mexico

Daniel holds an MSc in Sustainable Development of Coastal and Marine Ecosystems from the University of Cádiz (Spain) and a BSc (Hons) Oceanography with Marine Biology from the University of Southampton. Before taking up his position with GVI, Daniel worked as Marine Science Coordinator for CCC and carried out research and conservation projects in Australia, Costa Rica and Mexico. He was also the Marine Biome Coordinator for the WWF/Spain Valencia’s Local Group, where he grew up, and is a qualified PADI Dive Master, Emergency First Responder (EFR) Instructor and a certified boat skipper.

For the past 5 years, Daniel has been working in making sure the coastal and marine communities of the Mesoamerican region remain as pristine and diverse as possible, working alongside coastal communities from Costa Rica, Belize, Mexico and Honduras. This added to Daniel’s native grasp of the Spanish language and his knowledge of cultural aspects of Central and Latin America, makes him a very valuable addition to the GVI Team.

Cynthia Arochi Zendejas - Regional Office Administrative Officer

Cynthia is GVI’s Regional Office Administrative Officer. She is a graduate in Veterinary Medicine and Animal Husbandry from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). While studying her degree, she volunteered for a wildlife group at the university, worked at an ecological park, and was a volunteer for an organization that focused in community development and natural resources conservation. Cynthia holds a Master’s degree in International Environmental Sciences at Lund University, Sweden and recently finished a Diploma in Conservation Strategies and Methods, by the Tecnologico de Monterey and The Nature Conservancy. She has also experience as a French teacher and as Team Building Facilitator. In 2006 she joined Tulum’s expedition as a National Scholarship member. She likes challenges and loves traveling, meeting people, and the knowledge input of new experiences.

Laura Mears - Base Manager

Laura is a marine biologist, PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor, EFR instructor and RYA boat captain from the UK. Laura joined GVI in August 2007 after spending the summer teaching marine biology and diving on a teen sailing program in the British Virgin Islands. She has a degree in Marine Biology and Spanish from Swansea and a Masters in Marine Environmental Protection from Bangor. She has worked previously in the Red Sea resort of Dahab, putting together an eco-diving course, spent time in Abu Dhabi at their environmental agency assisting with fishery data collection and processing and has also worked with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Bocas del Toro, Panama, helping with mangrove studies and education initiatives. Laura is looking forward to sharing her passion and knowledge with everyone at Pez Maya, and waking up everyday to the sound of the Caribbean waves, as well as becoming the envy of all her friends.

Gianna Noguera - Expedition Staff

Gianna joined the Pez Maya expedition as a one of our Resident Marine Biologist, specializing in fish species. She is born and bred in Gibraltar, but has spent the last five years living in Wales, studying for a BSc in marine biology (University of Bangor). Being a true Gibraltarian she loves anything to do with the sea. She began diving when she was fifteen and is now a qualified PADI Divemaster. Recently, Gianna undertook an RYA Level 2 Powerboat course, and is therefore one of our boat handlers on base. After taking part in a marine expedition in Madagascar, Gianna decided that conservation is the way forward and that we must do everything we can to look after our coral reefs. Gianna is really excited about spending the next years underwater teaching everything about these beautiful ecosystems, and when above water, teaching some of her salsa moves!

Jeremy Collins - Expedition Staff

Jez first got started diving back in 1999 and since then, they haven’t been able to keep him out of the water. He spent 8 months working as a Divemaster in the chilly UK waters but soon left to live and work in the beautiful Mediterranean Sea off the island of Menorca, Spain. His passion for diving didn’t stop there and in 2007, he became a PADI Instructor and a Full Cave Diver. Jez decided to take his diving to the tropical paradise of the Mexican Caribbean and has now been a part of the GVI family since September 2007. At Pez Maya, Jez teaches the PADI Cavern Specialty course, Emergency First Response course, ferries divers to and from dive sites as a boat skipper, and when not in the water, can be found tinkering with base mechanics.

Amy Millman - Expedition Staff

Amy grew up in Hong Kong before moving to the UK. Since then she has lived in Australia, the Isle of Man and Colombia, South America, which is where she became a PADI Divemaster, and learnt Spanish. She has a degree in Marine Biology and recently completed an MSc in Marine Environmental Management, with an emphasis on Marine Protected Areas. She has done a lot of community work looking at how Marine Protected Areas are managed in the Philippines and some of the problems they are facing resulting from overfishing. Amy started working in Pez Maya in January 2008 and since then she is getting involved in community education work and teaching the GVI volunteers about coral reefs and marine protection here in Mexico. After only 1 month, Amy said ‘Working in Pez Maya has been brilliant so far. Waking up on this beautiful beach definitely puts a smile on your face, it’s brilliant and I love it!’.

Lyndon Neal - Programme Coordinator

Lyndon first came to Mexico in 2003 as a expedition member with GVI, where he quickly realized this was the place he wanted to call home. He became a full time staff member in 2004, overseeing the Health and Safety of the expedition and coordinating the maintenance aspect of the equipment. After 3 years in the field, Lyndon took a year out from Mexico to develop in other management areas and obtain further skills, befote comino back to Mexico. Since leaving Mexico, Lyndon has worked in Oman , Panama and the Lake district. Lyndon is a trained Ford motor technician , Combat Medic and Emergency First Responder (EFR), PADI Dive Master and RYA level 2 power boat driver , amongst other things. Lyndon brings the experience of having worked on over 13 expeditions for GVI in Mexico and has a vast knowledge of local wildlife and the ocean, but most importantly his passion for the great outdoors is infectious.