Our Team

Ms. Carolie Verde
President
Business Sector

Carolie Verde is a Sartenejeña who is passionate about education, tourism and in earth’s natural resources. She is a high school teacher at  St. John’s College High School where she serves as a Religion Teacher and Campus Minister and is currently  pursuing a Masters degree in Education. She also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Tourism Management and has served as a volunteer in various instances for the BTIA and BTB. She believes each person has the ability to contribute towards a fundamentally strong society and thus supports, appreciates and respects each and every stakeholder of the Corozal Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. Thus, she has voluntarily been supporting the growth and prosperity of SACD since 2008 and has represented Belize’s CBOs on the PACT BOD. “Together we can conserve CBWS’s natural beauty – a gift from God to us!”

Mrs. Zoe Walker
Secretary
Conservation Sector

Mrs. Zoe Walker has been an active member of the SACD Board since its establishment, and continues to provide technical assistance to SACD in her areas of expertise – conservation management, climate change adaptation planning for protected areas, strategic planning for NGOs and community conservation groups, and project implementation and evaluation. As part of Wildtracks, Mrs. Walker is heavily involved with manatee and primate rehabilitation and conservation. Mrs. Walker also works at the national level with national protection areas system planning and has led the development of Belize’s 2nd National Biodiversity Strategy and Action plan.

Mr. Evanier Cruz
Director
CBAC Representative 

Mr. Evanier Cruz is a fisherman and tour guide who lives in Sarteneja. Fishing from his youth, he spent more than decade fishing with his family in Corozal Bay as well as on the Mesoamerican reef. Mr. Cruz diversified his income through tourism and has worked as tour guide out of Belize City for more than 15 years. Mr. Cruz joined the Sarteneja Tour Guide Association (STGA) at its initiation, acting as president for more than 6 years, and joined the Corozal Bay Advisory Committee (CBAC) in 2018. Mr. Cruz is passionate about the environment and loves everything in, around, or on the water. Mr. Cruz is looking to use his position on the SACD BoDs to promote sustainable tourism locally and the creation of new jobs it would bring so that “Everyone gets a lil’ bit of dah cake!”

Mr. Leobihildo Tamai
Director
Sarteneja Village

Mr. Leobihildo Tamai (Bildo) is a Sartenejeño whose life has been focused on fishing from a very young age. Mr. Tamai has been a fisherman for more than 30 years, but is very conscious about the threats to fishery resources. His dedication to supporting sustainable fisheries in Belize has led him to become an active member of the Sarteneja Fishermen Association (SFA) and also a member of the Glovers Reef Advisory Committee (GRAC). Mr. Tamai has a passion for his community and is very hopeful that his contribution to SACD will ensure the livelihoods of his children and those of the community. Mr. Tamai represents the Sarteneja community, as a local representative of the largest fishing village, the home of SACD.

Mr. Jorge Flores
Treasurer
Education/Finance Sector

Jorge Flores is a born Sartenejan who has been teaching for 11 years in the community. Mr, Flores holds an Associate’s Degree in education and is very passionate about educating and building awareness about the importance of conserving and protecting the natural environment. He is also very open to new challenges and has volunteered to serve in the SACD Board of Directors to represent education sector to continue finding new innovative ideas to involve with the youths. He believes that God has given us such a special place and we must take care of it!

Joel Verde is a former fisherman from the Sarteneja community, and built his capacity as a Tour Guide, leading to the establishment of the Sarteneja Tour Guide Association (STGA) before becoming more involved in conservation. Mr. Verde is also a founding member of the Sarteneja Alliance for Conservation and Development (SACD) before he was first hired in 2009 as a project coordinator in said Organization to establish the Sarteneja Homestay Program, one of SACD’s income diversification opportunities for the fisher families of Sarteneja. He was then promoted to the Executive Director position in October, 2010; since then, over the years  Mr. Verde continues to build his capacity as Executive Director of SACD through professional training opportunities, both in Belize and abroad. He is currently pursuing an Associate’s degree in Natural Resource Management, with support of the MAR leadership program as a result of his participation in the 2012 cohort.  He has also successfully achieved participation in the Gulf of Honduras Conservation and Fellowship programme in 2010 and most recently represented Belize at the 2015 ICCROM international forum in Rome and Naples.

Deiden D. Gorosica, a local Sartenejeño, began collaborating with SACD as a Community Researcher. During this time, he developed a special interest in the ecosystem services that Corozal Bay Wildlife Sanctuary provides to its adjacent communities and the need to maintain healthy ecosystems for our future generations. He is currently completing an Associate’s degree in Accounting at Muffles Junior College and has been working as the SACD Project Coordinator since March 2016 for the project entitled, “Strengthening System Level Management of Marine Protected Areas in the Northern Belize Coastal Complex”, funded by the SGP/GEF Small Grants Programme. The project is designed to strengthen management effectiveness of marine protected areas in the Northern Belize Coastal Complex, a river to reef seascape that encompasses Corozal Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, Bacalar Chico National Park and Marine Reserve, Hol Chan Marine Reserve, and Caye Caulker Marine Reserve and Forest Reserve.

Krisel Perez is originally from Sarteneja Village, a well-known villager that contributes to the fishing industry and to the conservation and protection of the coastal area known as the Bay of Corozal. She was raised by a nuclear family; her father being a fisherman and her mother a teacher. Both of her parents contributed equally to her passion for nature. She started her elementary studies at Sarteneja, La Inmaculada R.C School and continued at the St. Joseph Primary School at Belize City. She then graduated from Saint Catherine Academy High School with a major in Academic Arts and then earned her Associates Degree with a major in Business Science at Muffles Junior College. Krisel has always been fond of conserving and protecting the environment since her childhood. She feels privileged to be a part of this organization that contributes to the protection and encompass the conservation of the coastal area where she was born and raised. She looks forward to impart her knowledge to the development of SACD and to the rest of the community.

Mr. Leomir Santoya
Natural Resource Programme Manager
nrpm@sacdbelize.org

Leomir is a skilled and multitasked professional employee looking for a challenging and responsible role in SACD where my skills, knowledge and experience can be enhanced and utilized effectively. He has been working for SACD in the position of Researcher/Ranger since 2015. Leomir graduated from Muffles Junior College in 2009 with an Associate Degree in Science with Majors in Biology and Environmental Science. He has always envisioned becoming a Marine Biologist as he has a deep passion for marine flora and fauna. He worked as Project Coordinator for the Sarteneja Fishermen Association from 2013 to 2015, helping improve the livelihoods of the Sarteneja fishermen through education and awareness and alternative livelihoods. He looked forward to improve the fisheries conditions of Corozal Bay Wildlife Sanctuary being part of SACD’s team. Recently, he became a certified Tour Guide and completed his certification in Advance Scuba Diving.

Mr. Verde, a native of Sarteneja Village, joined SACD as a full time employee in 2014. He graduated from Sarteneja Cornerstone Christian Academy and completed its Associates Degree with double majors in Biology and Mathematics at Muffles Junior College MJC. Abisai worked as a volunteer with SACD since 2008 and got the opportunity to be a part-time project coordinator in 2010. Since then, He has wide experience in education and outreach activities, project management and public relations. At SACD, Abisai works with schools and stakeholder communities of Corozal Bay Wildlife Sanctuary at all levels to bring across the goal of the organization which is bring people together to promote conservation and Sustainable development. He loves sports, loves to mentor youths, enjoys working with people, and enjoys taking care of the environment.

Mr. Ruby Andonys Arrivillaga has been residing in Sarteneja village for more than 20 years. Mr. Arivillaga joined SACD’s surveillance and enforcement team in 2016. Mr. Ruby was a former fisherman for approximately eight (8) years, and recently became a certified tour guide and member of the STGA (Sarteneja Tour Guide Association). He is fluent in Spanish and has a passion for working closely with fishermen to convey regulations. His personal goal as a ranger is to educate the users of Corozal Bay Wildlife Sanctuary (CBWS) the importance of sustainable fishing and wildlife for the benefit of the present and future generations. Ruby is passionate of his work, love to be out at CBWS and seen amazing marine animal on the wild.

Mr. Reynel Blanco
Park Ranger
sacd.rangers@sacdbelize.org

Mr. Blanco is a local from Sartenja village. He was born and raised in a fishing family from the community. In 2011, Reynel completed his secondary education at Chunox St. Viators Vocational High School. After finishing his high school, Reynel introduce the fishing industry and later got an opportunity to sit the Belize Tour Guide Training course opening its doors to the tourism industry. As a tour guide, he learned to appreciate the marine life and to love the sea. Reynel then looked for the opportunity to continue protecting the marine environment joining then the Sarteneja Alliance for Conservation and Development on October 2016. He is very passionate to the marine environment and looks forward to contribute to the wellbeing of the fisher’s livelihoods, and for the future generations to come.

Mr. Samuel Barrett
Development Manager
development@sacdbelize.org