I was born in the mountains of Colombia, yet I loved to be in the water before I could walk. When I turned 11 yrs old I met the amazing animals that are sharks and never turned back. I did my free diving course at 12 yrs old and SCUBA at age 15. My first dive with sharks was at Gorgona Island, in the Colombian Pacific Ocean in 1994. That same year I landed my first job as a dolphin trainer, which only confirmed what I had long sensed: I wanted to be a marine biologist!

I moved to Hawaii in 1998 where I carried out my studies working with Monk seals, turtles and sharks for 5 years. In 2006, I moved to South Africa to pursue a Masters degree in Catshark population dynamics. This eventually expanded to the field of conservation genetics in Shark populations.

I currently reside in Durban, South Africa, where I am the Chief Scientist at the Blue Wilderness Research Unit. Here I conduct shark research and develop conservation programs for Durban’s Aliwal Shoal. I’m simultaneously completing my doctorate on the genetic population structure of sharks and its relation to their reproductive strategies through the University of KwaZulu-Natal. My main interest is the biology and conservation of Chondrichthyes worldwide and I am carrying out a revision of shark biodiversity in South Africa and the Indian Ocean