Shaleyla Kelez

Shaleyla Kelez is a Peruvian biologist. She received her B.S. in 2000 from the “Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina” (Lima). Currently she is a second-year Ph.D. student at the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences at Duke University. She is also a Research Assistant in the Project Global at the Duke Center for Marine Conservation.

From 1999 to 2005, Kelez worked in several Non Governmental Organizations conducting research on sea turtles and by-catch, mainly in Peru, but also in Costa Rica and Puerto Rico. In Peru, Kelez also did research on penguins and marine protected areas.

Her professional interest is extending scientific understanding of how ecosystems function, particularly the marine ecosystem. Kelez wants to see sustainable economic development (i.e. fisheries) that also ensures the preservation of species, like sea turtles.

Kelez is a member of the UICN Sea Turtles Specialist Group and the International Sea Turtle Society.