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M. Inês Castro

Secretary-Treasurer and Founding Director

Inês is a Biologist with forty years of experience working on conservation projects. Born in São Paulo, Brazil, she completed her Bachelor’s degree in Biology in 1983 at Santo Amaro College for Biological Sciences, later working with reintroduction and animal enrichment for the Golden Lion Tamarin Conservation Program, in the state of Rio de Janeiro for three years. In 1986, she moved to the U.S. to pursue a M.Sc. in Zoology from the University of Maryland, working with antipredator behavior in lion tamarins (Leontopithecus) in captivity in Brazil. After completing her degree, Inês participated in diverse educational and outreach activities and did independent consulting for two years before returning to the GLT Program at the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park.  As Program Coordinator, she administered logistical and financial planning, communication, reports and bookkeeping for the Golden Lion Tamarin Conservation Program while continuing research on various aspects of golden lion tamarin behavior. From 1998 to 2020, Inês worked at Conservation International in its headquarters in Washington. Currently, Inês works as an independent consultant specialized in English/Portuguese translations of technical documents in the areas of conservation, biology and education.