Daniela Solano Rojas is the Founder and President of Saimiri Foundation, a small NGO with the aim to protect the biodiversity of Costa Rica, especially the primates of the Osa Peninsula. She received her BSc in Biology from the University of Costa Rica; and her MSc in Conservation and Wildlife Management from the National University, Costa Rica. She arrived in the Osa Peninsula in 2004, and then during 2005-2006, she studied the landscape, habitat and populations of Squirrel monkeys (Saimiri oerstedii), and since remained working for the conservation of the rainforest and the improvement of the local communities. Just prior, she worked for The Nature Conservancy in their former Osa Program, as well as consulted for different local NGOs. She currently leads her organization, works in scientific tourism and does private consulting when possible. Her area of interest is primate conservation, especially their status outside of protected areas, where they are threatened by habitat destruction and human activity. She holds a deep interest in the relationship between people and the environment and how it can be balanced more sustainably. She divides her time between conservation and nurturing her family, especially her four years old son.
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