TEAM
AND COLLABORATORS

MEET OUR TEAM

MICOL MONTAGNA

Project coordinator, trainer

Micol is a biologist with a specialization in biodiversity, biological evolution and animal behaviour. She is also a scuba diving lover and PADI Divemaster.
Her academic path brought her to experience various and peculiar fields: she moved her first steps studying wasps behaviour in Spain and afterward she worked on her Master’s thesis studying red deer distribution in the Apennines.

In 2012 Micol finally found her way in the marine field: she focused on cetaceans and mostly on marine turtles while assisting Ph.D. candidates in their research in Western Australia first and then in the Red Sea.

In 2015 she started collecting data on those amazing creatures in Southern Egypt and she joined TurtleWatch – Egypt: this was the beginning of a wonderful and unique adventure.
Micol now lives in Marsa Alam, Red Sea – Egypt, where she is always ready to go into the water to find new individual turtles.

ABDALLAH TAHER

Field coordinator/assistant, trainer

Abdallah, for friends “Abdu”, has been a diving instructor since 2004, he knows most of the dive sites along the Egyptian Red Sea coast and during his life has met probably more turtles and fish than humans.
He has always been extremely fascinated by marine creatures and his favourite hobby is to go diving and photograph them.
Abdu joined TurtleWatch – Egypt in 2015, giving a great contribution to the fieldwork thanks to his excellent skills in in-water activities and photography.

Abdu is also PADI diving instructor and he has created the Turtle Watch PADI Distinctive Specialty Course. During the course, approved by PADI, you will learn how to monitor marine turtles in the Red Sea and how to be part of our project.

AGNESE MANCINI

Founder and scientific coordinator, trainer

A turtle biologist and conservation scientist, Agnese started studying marine turtles in 2004 and has never stopped since, following turtles across oceans and continents.
In 2011, while working for the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA), she started Turtlewatch Egypt and then found in Micol and Abdu some formidable collaborators. When she is not swimming after turtles, you can spot Agnese riding her blue bike across the streets of La Paz, Mexico, where she resides.

VALERIA ROMA

Assistant, trainer

Valeria holds a bachelor’s degree in Natural Science and a master’s degree in Biodiversity and Evolution. She has a deep passion for the animal kingdom, particularly the ecological and ethological aspects that distinguish different species. For her bachelor’s thesis, Valeria conducted an analysis of data on turtle strandings along the Adriatic Sea’s Italian coasts.
She’s very interested in environmental disclosure and species conservation. Valeria joined TurtleWatch Egypt in 2023 and is currently living in Marsa Alam.

REBECCA MONTANARI

Assistant, trainer

Rebecca has been passionate about the ocean and biology for as long as she can remember. She started diving at 9, knowing even back then that her life would always be tied to the sea. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Sciences and a master’s degree in Marine Biology—there was no other path for her with her love for marine life.

For her bachelor’s thesis, Rebecca studied the Emilia-Romagna coastline as a potential nesting area for the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), analyzing the factors that influence egg incubation. That project sparked an even greater passion for these fascinating animals.

Rebecca is also a certified Divemaster, and her next goal is to become a diving instructor. She is a cheerful person, always ready to dive into new challenges and learn more, especially when it comes to the sea and nature.

MAJA ZAMENCKA

Assistant, trainer

Maja is an oceanographer (marine biology specialization) with a true love for all animals. Her adventure with sea turtles started in 2015 when she volunteered at ARCHELON, the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece for the first time. Since then, she had a chance to work with turtle monitoring and research projects as well as rehabilitating sick and injured individuals at Sea Turtle Rescue Center.

In her free time, she loves to stay in the water following her passions and developing her diving/freediving/kitesurfing/underwater photography skills.

Maja joined TurtleWatch Egypt in 2022 and is currently living in Marsa Alam.

MARILUZ PARGA

Veterinary advisor

Mariluz Parga is co-founder and Senior Project Manager at the NGO SUBMON (www.submon.org). She is a veterinarian specialised in wildlife medicine and conservation. After working with European wildlife, zoo animals and in exotic animal clinic for several years, she started her career with sea turtles at a rescue centre in Mediterranean Spain in 2003. In no time she was collaborating with fishers to investigate how to reduce the impact of bycatch on sea turtles. In 2006 she became the lead veterinarian for the “Eastern Pacific longline sea turtle bycatch reduction program”, working on board fishing vessels to assess post-release survival of incidentally captured sea turtles, and to define the best handling and release practices of sea turtles on board longline vessels along the region. Since then she has carried out dozens of training sessions with fishers, fishery observers and fishery managers in countries of America and Europe. If she is not working with fishers, you can find her in the North of Spain, trying to surf the waves of the Cantabric Sea.

DANIELA FREGGI

Veterinary advisor

Daniela Freggi, founder of the Lampedusa Sea Turtle Rescue, is a lifelong advocate for sea turtle conservation, bringing over 35 years of hands-on experience in rescuing, rehabilitating and caring for injured sea turtles. Her academic path began with a degree in Marine Biology from the University of Rome, followed by a Master’s in Conservation Medicine of Aquatic Animals from the Veterinary Department of the University of Padova. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Animal Health and Zoonosis at the Veterinary Department of the University of Bari. Daniela’s professional journey has taken her around the world, from Bolivia to the USA, France, and across Italy, working with a wide range of marine species including dolphins, penguins and of course sea turtles. As Director of both the Sea Turtle Rescue Center in Lampedusa and the Wildlife Rescue Center in Sicily, she oversees the rehabilitation of over 200 sea turtles and about 100 surgeries annually. Beyond clinical work, Daniela is deeply committed to community outreach and collaboration. She works closely with local fishers, volunteers and international partners to promote best practices in sea turtle rehabilitation. Since 2010, together with Mariluz Parga, she has co-organized and coordinated the Sea Turtle Rehabilitation and Medicine Workshops, held at ISTS symposia and Mediterranean Conferences. Daniela also acts as a consultant for international programs aimed at setting up new rescue centers and training courses in sea turtle rehabilitation around the world. Through her leadership at Associazione Caretta caretta – Lampedusa Turtle Rescue, she champions a vision of sea turtle rehabilitation that is inclusive, innovative and globally connected, bringing not only expertise, but also a heart full of compassion and a spirit that continues to inspire hundreds of volunteers.

VALENTINA SESIA

Illustrator, artist

Valentina is a visual communication specialist with a background in Art Direction. After graduating from the Academy of Arts and New Technologies in Rome, she founded Arnica Design in 2012—her own creative studio named after the resilient alpine flower of her native Aosta Valley.

Her work spans logo design, corporate identity, web design, editorial graphics, and illustration. It’s through illustration that her collaboration with TurtleWatch Egypt began.

Driven by a deep sense of connection between humans and nature, Valentina’s art invites us to slow down and reconnect with the natural world.

From the Alps to the Red Sea, she now divides her time between Aosta and Marsa Alam.