Director of Marine Partnerships, Wild Earth Allies
José Urteaga has been working in sea turtle and coastal habitat conservation in Central America for more than two decades. He uses interdisciplinary methods to find solutions that integrate human needs and conservation. José focuses on improving the organization’s impact on the promotion of socially sound conservation interventions, the support of community-based conservation, and creative ways to cultivate local stewardship and conservation capacity.
Since 2023, Jose has been the Director of Marine Partnerships at Wild Earth Allies. José completed his PhD in the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources at Stanford University in 2022. He is an active member of several sea turtle conservation networks, including the Marine Turtle Specialist Group of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). He is the country co-coordinator of the Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Network (WIDECAST). José was recognized as a Conservation Hero by the Disney Conservation Fund in 2005 and named a National Geographic Society Emerging Explorer in 2010. He is the Board Treasurer of SEE Turtles and previously served as a Board Member of Wild Earth Allies from 2017 to 2021.