Nic Bach: Executive Director and Director of Infrastructure & Patrols

Having always had a passion for the sea, Nic has strived to gather as much experience regarding the beautiful blue. Whether with Coral Cay Conservation in the Philippines and Fiji, conducting research in the Mombasa Marine Park in Kenya or MOTE marine labs in Florida, or here on Roatan. Nic has always aspired to develop his knowledge in Marine Biology since a young boy. After completing his Masters in Tropical Coastal Management, he began working with the RMP in April 2006. Over the years, Nic has gathered experience in a host of roles including installing and maintaining marine infrastructure island-wide, writing and fulfilling grants, planning and supervising patrols, and developing relationships with the local community. His current concerns (which will effect how much longer he will reside on Roatan) pertain to how the increased cruise ship numbers will affect the island and its reefs.

Sandy Castillo: Administrator

Raised in Tegucigalpa, Sandy majored in Architecture from CEDAC (Centro de Diseño, Arquitectura y Construcción). In May 2007, she came to Roatan and begun work as a supervising project manager with PMAIB, an environmental agency responsible for the management of the Bay Islands. While on Roatan, her interests with marine conservation began and once her contract expired with PMAIB, she was offered and accepted the position as administrator of the RMP office in West End. Being only Open Water certified, Sandy’s goal is to climb the PADI ladder and become a Rescue Diver.

Licario Zepeda: South Side Field Coordinator

Born in Tegucigalpa, Licario studied Tourism Business Administration at university in Tegus. His passion for marine conservation started after he took his PADI Open Water Dive Course in Utila back in 2004. Since then, he realized that he loved to be surrounded by marine life, which led him to recently complete his PADI Assistant Instructor degree. Due to his knowledge in administration and love of marine life, he joined the RMP team in 2008 as the new Field Director of the RMP South Side Chapter. Since then he has been leading the water patrols, infrastructure programs, and other various projects in that area of the island.

Tasha Jackson: Eco-store manager

Tasha was born and raised on Roatan, where she enjoys living. As a native islander, her spare time is mostly spent swimming and snorkelling the reefs around West End. For this reason, she chose to become part of the Marine Park staff, and runs the Marine Park Eco-Store. Recently, Tasha was trained in becoming a representative for the RMP through the Coral Reef Leadership Network, a project funded by the Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL). Being a trained CRLN leader, she will be able to carry out education and outreach programs to target different stakeholders and community groups throughout Roatan.

David Cardona: Marine Park Ranger

David has been involved with environmental laws enforcement for over half a decade, having worked for the Bay Islands Conservation Association (BICA) for two and a half years before he became part of the RMP’s patrol staff two years ago. David says he enjoys his job as it contributes to protecting our valuable coral reefs and of course, for the adventure involved in apprehending poachers. According to David, a day without making an arrest is like a day without sun. Recently, David has been given responsibility of controlling the boat traffic in West Bay during cruise ship days.

Barie Jackson: Marine Park Ranger

Barie is the most recent addition to our patrol team. Born and raised on Roatan, he had wanted to leave the island after graduating from high school to attend the Police Academy and become a cop. Even though circumstances didn’t allow this to happen, Barie says working for the RMP’s patrol program made his dream come true. As he now works on the patrols hand in hand with the National Police, he has become recognized as a local authority figure. This is the reason why he has become the captain with the greatest record of arrests. He lives in Sandy Bay where he enjoys his days off with his 3 year-old daughter and wife. Barie is also a representative for the Coral Reef Leadership Network