Alejandro Peña de Niz
Sea Turtle Protection & Conservation center director
Alejandro Peña de Niz was born and raised in the territory of what is now Careyes. After receiving his B.A. in Biology at the University of Guadalajara, he returned to Careyes to start the turtle preservation program in 1983 that is still running to this day. His research with Dr. Theodora Pinou in marine turtle nesting, the moon’s relationship to nesting, and marine turtle health has been published in the Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History (Yale University) and the Herpetological Review. Alejandro still manages the local population of sea turtles in Careyes and delivers environmental education talks to local children during the Sea Turtles Field Trips.