Our Team
The Brown Bear Foundation (FOP- Fundación Oso Pardo) relies on the contribution of a multidisciplinary team of collaborators and contracted personnel responsible for carrying out its conservation activities and initiatives. Some of these come from academic fields and are mostly part of the FOP board of trustees and scientific team, advising and guiding the basic lines of action.
Most of the team works directly in rural areas and in the natural environment where the bears live, carrying out surveillance, research and education tasks. The coordination of all these tasks is assumed by the managerial and technical teams that operate from the Santander central office.
Executive director
Guillermo Palomero
Naturalist
Office Team
Marcel Hiriart
Accounting and labor management
Maribel Escalera
Secretary accounting and labor management
Celia Martínez
Administrative assistant
Legal Team
Carolina Franco
PhD in Law. European University of Madrid
Idoia Parra
Master’s degree in Environmental Law. Complutense University of Madrid
Endika Valbuena
Master’s degree in Environmental Law. Complutense University of Madrid
Legal adviser
Carlos González-Antón
PhD in Law. EU Professor of Administrative Law at the University of León.
Scientific advisor on large carnivore conservation and conflict management projects
José Vicente López-Bao
PhD in Biology. Senior Scientist at the CSIC (IMIB-CSIC). Member of the Canid Specialist Group (Species Survival Commission, IUCN)
Scientific advisor in projects for the conservation and management of agroforestry systems, complex forests and traditional chestnut systems
Pedro Álvarez-Álvarez
PhD in Forestry Engineering. Professor at the University of Oviedo (Agroforestry Engineering Area – BOS Department)
Advisor on conservation and agricultural policies
Alberto Navarro
Degree in Environmental Sciences. University of Alcalá
Projects Coordinator
María Párraga
PhD in Animal Sciences. University of Padua (Italy)
Projects Coordinator
Marina Gaona
Master’s Degree in Ecology. National Institute of Amazonian Research
Communications Officer
Kalina Pawilonis
PhD in Journalism. University of Warsaw
Veterinarian specializing in the scientific capture of large carnivores.
Óscar Rivas
Degree in Veterinary Medicine. University of Santiago de Compostela
Field team
Luis Fernández
Field team
Marcos Leonardo
Field team
Alicia Madrid
Field team
Patricia Núñez
Field team
Elsa Sánchez
Field team
Eliseo González
Field team
Rafael Alba
Field team
Begoña Almeida
Bear Houses and graphic design
Eva Ceballos
Last update: April 23, 2026