Our Team

Joana holds a PhD in Biology from the University of Lisbon and her area of expertise focuses on the social organization and behaviour of dolphins. Joana has been working with marine mammals and environmental education for more than two decades and is the founder and executive director of AIMM. She is currently developing and involved in several studies regarding the biology, ecology and conservation of marine mammals in the south coast of Portugal. Joana has participated in several cetacean research projects, in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and worked as a marine mammal consultant and educator for various whale watching companies, zoos, aquariums, universities, private environmental companies and governmental organisations around the world.

Francisco is a marine ecologist, with a PhD in Biology from the University of Lisbon. His original background dealt with experimental biology and marine climate change contexts, to assess the potential impacts of the future ocean environments on marine invertebrate species. Recently, he has begun applying ecological modelling and statistical approaches to not only broaden its studies, while at the same time projecting potential changes to species biogeographic distributions in response to anthropogenic stressing, as well as analyzing and projecting potential risk towards marine species, with the ultimate goal of adequately informing species’ and marine ecosystem’ conservation plans.

After completing her MSc in Marine Conservation at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, Alicia joined AIMM as a Research Assistant. She has been part of the team ever since and is involved in different research projects of AIMM. Currently she is working on the photo identification of orcas seen in the Algarve while also being part of the team as a Researcher. Over the past six years Alicia acquired a vast experience in the field of marine and biological sciences, particularly working with marine mammals.

Guilherme is a naturalist and wildlife enthusiast who has been working with marine mammals for over a decade. In 2013 he enrolled in a marine biology degree at the University of Algarve, and in 2015 he joined AIMM. Guilherme opted to place his studies on hold in order to pursue field work opportunities and has since worked in several countries while collaborating on multiple research projects. He is currently a Researcher and skipper at AIMM, and is interested in cetacean ecology and ethology, as well as ornithology.

Inês is a Graphic Designer with over five years of experience in digital and print design. She graduated in Design from IADE – Creative University and has a Post-Graduate Course in Editorial Design from ESTAL. Having a passion for illustration led her to the opportunity to edit and illustrate a children’s learning book about the World of Cork. Later, feeling the need to learn more about the ever-evolving area of coding, she obtained a Technological Specialisation Course in web design software. She considers herself a resilient person, not giving up in the face of difficulties, whether it’s in her daily life, or at work.

Henry first joined the AIMM team as a Research Assistant in 2016 and has been with us ever since. In 2018 he became one of our boat skippers and internship coordinators helping to run our busy research and internship programme. Originally from Scotland, Henry has a background in offshore Wind & Wave Energy, marine mammal monitoring and environmental consultancy. After 5 years of conducting data collection surveys in the field, Henry has a wealth of knowledge of the Algarve’s marine mega fauna.