Team

Tibor Hartel

Biologist, PhD

When he graduated the Biology and Geology Faculty at the Babeș-Bolyai University Cluj-Napoca in 2000, Tibor set out to change the world! He taught biology at various schools in Sighișoara (such as Mircea Eliade High School and Miron Neagu School) and conducted ample researche in the field of herpetology. He deployed field trips and studies involving hundreds of children, consequently over 10 pupils obtaining prices at national and international conferences. In 2004 he started his PhD studies and completed them early in January 2008. As years went by, he continued his research in various domains of biology. He taught classes at various universities in Romania and acted as a guest researcher at the National Museum of Natural Sciences in the Netherlands. He published over 50 papers in national and international scientific magazines. He also contributed to creating protected areas in the surroundings of Sighişoarei. If you are interested in Tibor Hartel’s scientific activities, please visit his website: http://www.ad-astra.ro/whoswho/view_profile.php?user_id=1639

Kinga Öllerer

Biologist

Kinga graduated the Biology Faculty at the Bucharest University, becoming specialized in Ecology and Environment Protection. She continued with Masters Degree studies in Management of Biological Diversity (Uppsala, Suedia) and in Landscape Architecture and Regional Development (Bucharest). She is now a scientific researcher at the Institute of Biology within the Romanian Academy. Her main interests refer to vegetation ecology, respectively the spatial and temporal dynamics of populations depending on the landscape composition and configuration. She discovered Breite in 2005, while collaborating with the Trust’s biologists for various botanic studies regarding amphibian and bird populations. She currently researches the vegetation of the plateau as part of her PhD studies. She initiated the “Ancient Oak - Centre for informal education in the Breite Reserve” and “Saxon Greenway” projects, being involved in several conservation and educational activities deployed in the Breite Reserve.

Ciprian Samoilă

Ecologist, GIS specialist; designer, programmer and website administrator

Ciprian graduated the Natural Sciences Faculty at the Ovidius University Constanţa, becoming specialized in the fields of Ecology and Environment Protection. He currently attends his Phd studies in biology and teaches as a researcher assistant at the Ovidius University Constanţa. His fields of interest are: Green Map, GIS and its applications in the management of biodiversity, nature conservation, Species Distribution Modeling, Ecological Niche Modeling, Habitat Suitability, biogeography, geo-botanic mapping and so on.

Árpád Szapanyos

Ranger in chief

Ecologist amateur and passionate about nature, Árpád is very skilled in identifying bird nests and eggs. He contributed as a researcher assistant to conducting the studies regarding the species Crex crex and Lanius minor, and to making the inventory of wood pasture habitats in the Sighișoara – Târnava Mare region. He co-authored a scientific article about the species Lanius minor that was published in an ISI international science magazine.

Alina Scholtes

Communication expert

Alina has a six-year experience in human resources and communication. She developed and delivered soft-skills training programs, performance management and social benefits systems, also working on improving process flows, facilitating communication and community relations. Alina is a member of the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development UK and a certified consultant of Human Synergistics and British Safety Council. Discovering the Breite Reserve revived her passion for nature and her determination to raise awareness and build responsibility towards the environment.

Codruța Vrânceanu

Economist

Graduate of the Vasile Goldiș University in Arad and specialized in Marketing, Codruța works as an economist for the Mihai Eminescu Trust. She is experienced in monitoring, implementing and financial reporting as part of internationally financed programs. In her present role, she ensures the proper deployment of the accounting activities for the Trust’s projects.