Rafael Mares

Rafael is a data scientist, ecologist, and web developer with over 15 years’ experience across academia and industry. His expertise is in spatial data analysis and visualisation, working with big datasets to tackle challenging questions.

Rafael studied biology in Panama and went on to work for WWF, tracking white-lipped peccaries in the Peruvian Amazon, before pursuing his PhD studies on meerkat dispersal and cooperation in the South African Kalahari Desert. This was followed by postdoctoral research on breeding patterns of sociable weavers in South Africa, and foraging movement patterns of tropical primates and carnivores in Panama. He went on to help create games and data visualisations to promote wildlife conservation at Internet of Elephants, before joining Proforest as a Data Analyst.