Pedro Prata

Team leader Western Iberia

Pedro Prata was born in 1982 and grew up in a family farm in the central mountains of Portugal. Since childhood, he has been wandering through the grassland plateaus, venturing into the thick forests or simply sunbathing in the deep canyons of the rivers. It made him realise that there is a complex web of relations which wild nature so fruitfully shows in its many different aspects. He is passionate for nature in all its extent and a lover of outdoor sports. Pursuing this curiosity led him to an MSC in biology in the University of Lisbon, where he mostly researched the interactions between plants and fungi.

Starting an international career in 2005, he did an MSc in ecology and evolution at the Universiteit van Amsterdam which led to his research on coral reef recovery after storm damage in Curaçao, in the Caribbean. Until 2010, he lived and was involved in different projects in Brazil and the United States, and finally came back to Europe. Near his hometown there was an organisation called ATN that represented the rewilding initiative with an innovative project in Faia Brava. Convinced that this was a plausible strategy to deal with the high levels of land abandonment that raged for decades in the country’s interior, he is now taking responsibility to develop this project in a wider area, to cover the whole Côa river basin that stretches as a natural wildlife corridor and that must be carefully managed so that it can bloom in diversity, using the rewilding strategy as the model to achieve these goals.

Marta Cálix

Head of Funding and Partnerships

Marta Cálix was born in 1991 in Lisbon and has been interested in nature (and birds in particular) from a young age. Having studied evolutionary and developmental biology at the University of Lisbon, Marta decided to pursue an MSc in Wildlife Management and Conservation at the University of Reading in the UK. As a keen birdwatcher and ornithologist Marta has participated in several expeditions with Operation Wallacea, studying the avifauna of Guyana and Honduras, and teaching volunteers and students about the importance of long-term biodiversity monitoring schemes.

Her passion for the conservation of biodiversity led her to work at the IUCN European Regional Office in Brussels, where she participated in the compilation of several European Red Lists of Threatened Species. While at IUCN, Marta became increasingly interested in the linkages between business and biodiversity conservation, especially the potential for sustainable business models to support conservation work. This new interest led her to pursue an MBA at IE Business School in Madrid. As a result, Marta became interested in the rewilding movement in Europe, which is pioneering nature-based enterprises as part of large-scale rewilding initiatives and started working for Rewilding Portugal as a project manager in 2019. Currently is the Head of Funding and Partnerships.

Fernando Teixeira

Head of Communication and Enterprise

Fernando Teixeira is 29 years old and was born in Fundão, and therefore knows quite well the Greater Côa Valley region. He began his career as a journalist at a very young age, and still retains these duties.

He completed his law degree at the Faculty of Law of the Universidade do Porto and his  Masters in Management at UBI. Is now student of the doctorate program in Agribusiness and Sustainability at Universidade de Évora/UTAD.

He has experience in several local and reference journals, having previously been director of a university newspaper and published three books of his own.

His dynamic and proactive attitude towards the media will be his focus in this function.

Luís Pereira

Head of Finance

Luis Pereira was born in the city of Guarda, where he has proudly remained for most of his life.
He has a degree in Business Management and is a member of the Order of Certified Accountants, with over two decades of experience in business management and finance in national and international organisations.
He has always been passionate about discovering villages and hidden corners of inland Portugal, characterised by unique landscapes and biodiversity, thanks in large part to his love of sport, particularly mountain biking.
From an early age, he kept in touch with his grandparents in the countryside on a small farm, helping with subsistence farming and maintaining regular contact with animals, an affection that continues to this day through his passion for his pets.

Bruno Simões

Head of Conservation and Rewilding

Bruno Simões was born in France in 1982, but grew up with a deep connection to the Portuguese countryside through his father, who was born in Pinhel. Since childhood, he has explored many of the areas that are now being worked on by Rewilding Portugal.

He holds a degree in Biology from the University of the Azores, a Master’s degree in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources from the University of Porto, and a PhD in Zoology from University College Dublin in Ireland. He worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Natural History Museum in London and was awarded a prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship from the European Union to work at the University of Adelaide (Australia) and the University of Bristol (United Kingdom). Between 2020 and July 2025, he was a professor and researcher in zoology at the University of Plymouth (United Kingdom). He currently continues to be a researcher and visiting professor at the Natural History Museum in London, the University of Adelaide, and the Federal University of Pará (Brazil), maintaining these collaborations in parallel with his work at Rewilding Portugal.

With over two decades of experience in evolutionary biology, taxonomy, zoology, ecology, functional and environmental genomics, biodiversity monitoring and conservation, Bruno has developed a unique perspective on global conservation challenges. Over the past 10 years, he has participated in innovative projects to discover and monitor biodiversity and restore habitats in the Amazon, West Africa and Australia, in partnership with local and indigenous communities.

Fascinated by the natural world and driven by personal connections to the Portuguese countryside, Bruno joined Rewilding Portugal in September 2025 as Director of Conservation and Rewilding. His return represents an opportunity to apply decades of scientific knowledge and international experience to the conservation and restoration of Portuguese ecosystems.

André Couto

Rewilding Officer

André Couto was born in 1990 in the center of Portugal, where he grew up exploring some of the oldest protected areas in the country, and helping with the traditional farming practiced by his family. Years later, his interest in zoology led to a BSc in Biology and an MSc in Applied Ecology at the University of Aveiro. During his studies, his passion for amphibians and reptiles took him to places like the brazilian Amazon or the mayan jungle of Calakmul. The contact with these truly wild and diverse places fueled his will to work in nature conservation and contribute to the restoration of natural landscapes in Europe.

In 2015, back in Portugal for his master’s thesis, he had the opportunity to live and work in Montesinho Natural Park, experiencing one of the most complete ecosystems in the country, with wolves and large herbivores, which evidenced the importance of natural processes and rewilding in creating opportunities for the environment and people. Between 2016 and 2018 he applied this philosophy as a conservation officer for the municipality of Lousada, in northwestern Portugal, where he worked with several groups of vertebrates, managing priority habitats for threathened species and collaborating in the creation of local protected areas.

André happily joined the Rewilding Portugal team in 2019, hoping to contribute to a wilder future in the Côa Valley and a better coexistence between man and nature.

Carlos Santos

Entreprise Officer

Miguel Pontes

Surveillance team

Miguel Pontes was born in 1990 in Porto, where he grew up in proximity to the sun and nature.

Since he was young he has been passionate about mountaineering and camping, having spent a large part of his free time between surfing on the northern beaches and hiking in the Peneda-Gerês National Park.

He had professional experience in several areas, from mechatronics to education, including health and human care.

After living seven years in England, where he discovered the importance of conservation through participation in projects developed by NGOs, he decided to return to Portugal to explore the historic and rural traditions of the centre region of Portugal, and make his contribution to the environment.

Miguel joined the Rewilding Portugal team in 2020, with the aim of contributing to the preservation of biodiversity and for a more sustainable coexistence.

Gonçalo Matos

Herd Manager

Gonçalo Martins de Matos was born in Guarda in 1996, and from a very young age has accompanied his father in the management of cattle in Quinta do Tabalião, which aroused his interest to, at the academic level, embark on the Higher Technical Course in Biological Agricultural Production and attending the Degree in Agricultural Engineering.

His interest in the conservation and protection of wild fauna and flora comes from his great passion for hunting, a tradition that has existed in the family for several generations, which led him to discover a large part of the Iberian territory on hunting days. The slopes of the Côa are quite familiar to him due to the numerous partridge and woodcock hunts carried out there and the higher hunting level in the correction of densities in the international Tagus area.

During the closed seasons, it develops activities to preserve key species, providing them with food, water and improving habitats in order to promote their reproduction. He joined the Rewilding Portugal team in order to combine his passion for nature with his professional activity.

Pedro Ribeiro

Rewilding Officer

Pedro Ribeiro was born in 1995 in the district of Setúbal. From an early age he became interested in wildlife and spent hundreds of hours watching wildlife documentaries.

He entered the University of Évora and graduated in Animal Science and Technology doing his final internship, in 2016, in a small Zoo and Wild Bird Hospital in England. A passion for nature conservation led him to take a Masters degree in Conservation Biology in the same city.

During his academic career, he became interested in ornithology, having participated in numerous national bird censuses, and has several years of experience as a ringer and as nature guide.

In 2021, he joined Rewilding Portugal’s  team with the intention of contributing to the conservation of scavenger birds in Portugal and to help in the rewilding of the Greater Côa Valley, restoring the stability and maturity of wild ecosystems, benefiting the entire food chain.

Marta Vieira

Coexistence Officer

Marta Vieira was born in 1983 in Northern Portugal. She has always had contact with animals and practiced nature activities such as hiking or mountain biking. Her relationship with domestic animals led her to pursue a master’s degree in veterinary medicine at the University of Lisbon. After several years working in a companion animal clinic, she completed a Masters in Clinical Ethology at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and dedicated herself to consulting on animal behavior with the aim of improving the relationship between animals and their families.

With her work at Rewilding Portugal, she seeks to contribute to the conservation of Nature and the improvement of biodiversity, promoting animal and human well-being.

Sofia Capelo

Administrative Assistant

Sofia Capelo was born in Guarda in 1982, having spent most of her life in a village in the county.

Despite all her education having passed through the area of Arts and History and her professional experience being more than 10 years in the trade market, it was in the context of work indirectly linked to sports that she acquired the love by walking in nature.

Passionate about discovering landscapes and their history, hobbies of her spare time, she joined Rewilding Portugal´s project at the end of 2021 as an administrator, where she hopes to make her small contribution to conservation and the organization.

Nuno Paixão

Field Operative

Alexandra Oliveira

Rewilding Center Manager

Edmilton Vaz

Finance Officer

Antónioo Letras

Field Operative

Tiago Pinho

Project Manager

With a degree in Engineering, Tiago has been working for several years in project management for various institutions at national and international level.

His passion for nature led him over time to expand his knowledge of related topics and eventually to complete a Master’s degree in Agroecology. At Rewilding Portugal he is responsible for project management, seeking to contribute with his motivation and earned experience to the implementation of actions aimed at nature conservation alongside local communities and in rural contexts.

Vítor Galas

Field Team Manager

José Fontes

Project Developer

Cláudia Martins

Engagement Officer

Celina Barroca

Rewilding Officer

Born in Covilhã in 1986 and raised in Silvares (Fundão), Celina is a botanist with a Master’s degree in Biodiversity and Taxonomy of Plants from the University of Edinburgh and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE). Over 17 years, she has worked in botany, horticulture and conservation at institutions such as the Oxford Botanic Garden, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and research centres in Portugal.

She has taken part in international scientific expeditions and in research and conservation projects focused on threatened species, as well as studies on aromatic and medicinal plants and invasive species. She has also collaborated on conservation initiatives in countries such as Mexico, Indonesia and Madagascar, where she coordinated teams and operations in challenging contexts, strengthening her management and leadership skills and deepening her understanding of the diverse ecosystems in which she worked.

At Rewilding Portugal she is part of the team as a Rewilding Officer, contributing to nature recovery through biodiversity conservation, project planning and implementation, citizen science and environmental education. Dynamic and curious, she believes that every action is an opportunity to regenerate ecosystems and bring people closer to the wild.

Maria José Oliveira

Human Resources Officer

Maria José Oliveira was born in Luanda in 1973 and lives in Seia.

With a degree in Sociology from the University of Évora, she is an experienced professional in the field of Human Resources Management, with a consolidated track record in leadership and strategic management roles. Throughout her career, she has held positions of high responsibility, coordinating recruitment and selection processes, training, career management and organisational climate.

In addition, she has worked on the implementation and maintenance of Integrated Quality, Environment and Safety Management Systems, contributing to ISO certifications (9001, 14001 and 45001) in different organisational contexts.

Her experience includes coordinating teams in multicultural environments, particularly in international markets, and leading strategic projects aimed at organisational development and continuous improvement.