Ana Daniela Sansur

Ana Daniela Sansur, aka Dani, is the executive manager of the Kanahau Utila Research & Conservation Facility. Dani was born and raised in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, she completed her undergraduate in Environmental Engineering, and then got a specialist degree in Environmental Management of Chemical Products. As a young adult, Dani had pioneered a successful NGO rescuing and rehoming stray dogs in her home city of Tegucigalpa. She fell in love with wildlife conservation after completing her Joint Master of Degree in Applied Ecology (MSc) in the University of Poitiers in France, Christian Albertch University of Kiel in Germany, and University of Coimbra in Portugal where she developed her thesis in metal exposure and bio-accumulation in cave roosting bats. Her experience also includes ecology training provided by researchers at Tputini Biodiversity Station in the Amazon, Brazil, as well as with the Galapagos Science Centre on the Galapagos Islands.

At Kanahau, in addition to managing the day-day running of the facility, financial accounts, and helping develop student internships, Dani is primarily responsible for the development and implementation of local environmental education and community outreach activities on Utila. Given her background in environmental engineering, Dani also provides professional consultation services for the application of environmental law and licensing processes on Utila.

As of 2020, Dani was qualified as a PADI Dive Instructor, which enables her to supervise and undertake marine-based research projects, as well as teach and certify PADI dive courses. Currently she is involved with coral nursery maintenance and several separate community projects, including a lionfish jewelry-making course for empowering local women through a sustainable business.