Internship Leaders
Internship on Environmental Programs in the Ecuadorian Amazon

Karina Berg - Country Director - Ecuador

Karina has always had a passion for travel and after studying and working in the media, she succumbed to the open road. She worked for 7 years as a tour leader for an adventure travel company basing herself in Latin America. Both her work and personal travels took her as far afield as the Amazon basin, Patagonian Mountains, to coastal Central America and she realised that she wanted to give something back to the people and places which had given her so many amazing experiences over the years. To this aim, she got involved with animal charities in Northern Peru and teaching English in small communities in various locations. On return to the UK in 2008 she discovered a spot in the GVI office, where her goal to use her extensive travel and group leading experience, whilst being involved with an organisation focused on sustainable conservation and community development could be fulfilled. After 6 months in the UK an opportunity to return to South America proved too much for her to resist and she can now be found somewhere in the Amazon rainforest or in Quito, where she is overseeing the Amazon expedition. Karina is a qualified Emergency First Response Instructor and fluent in Spanish and is enjoying life back in Latin America.

Chris Beirne - Field Manager

Living just a stone’s throw from the Pennine Way, Chris spent most of his formative years trying to get out of walks in the hills with his parents. He realised the error of his ways at 16 when he began to disappear off on bigger and bigger “adventures”, armed with only his old film camera and a rain jacket. His fascination with nature and physiology led him to study Biological Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. In his second year, he was accepted on an expedition to study sustainable logging practices in Bolivia. From there, he planned and implemented a research expedition into the population dynamics of chameleons in the South of Madagascar.

Now Chris is bringing his experience and enthusiasm to the Yachana Reserve where he hopes to conduct a long-term study into the effects of habitat change on Amphibian and Reptile populations - and fit in a bit of freestyle birding in his spare time!

Oliver Burdekin - Field Staff

Originally from West Yorkshire, Oliver has been working with GVI since October 2006. Having studied a BSc in Environmental Science and continuing to Masters level in Environmental Innovation, he decided it was about time to go fulfill one of his dreams and see the Amazon in person. Beginning as a volunteer with GVI Amazon, Ecuador he was given the opportunity to return as a scholar in the following phase. After six months in the jungle he took some time out to see more of South and North America. Following this he returned to GVI to work in the Mexican office where he developed an interest in GIS and marine ecology. After two years in Mexico working closely with GVI's diving expeditions amongst others, he has now returned to the Amazon as field staff.

Jenn Sinasac - Field Staff

For as long as she can remember, Jenn has had an interest in wildlife and the natural world. She spent her childhood exploring outdoors and camping with her family in various locations around North America, particularly around her home near Toronto, Canada. She developed a passion for birds at a very young age, and always dreamed of visiting a rainforest. Jenn spent her school years working with birds of prey and leading various environmental education programs. She has a BSc with a major in Wildlife Biology from the University of Guelph (Ontario, Canada). After graduating, she took the opportunity to volunteer for 2 weeks at a biodiversity station in Southeastern Peru, helping with biological surveys dealing with macaws and mammals. She furthered her education with a post-grad program in Ecotourism Management, and pursued further work in the Neotropics. In 2008-2009, she spent 10 months working with The Peregrine Fund on their Central American projects dealing with rare Harpy Eagles and Orange-breasted Falcon, a truly memorable experience, as raptors are her favourite birds! Jenn joined the GVI Amazon team in Ecuador at the end of March 2010. She looks forward to sharing her knowledge and stories of tropical rainforests, plants, birds, insects and more! She enjoys early morning jungle yoga, birding in her spare time and wants to take in all that the Amazon has to offer.