Resident Veterinary Surgeon
Originally from Mexico, Dr. Maribel Escobedo Mondragón developed an early
passion for marine wildlife and conservation.
That passion eventually led her to pursue a career dedicated to protecting threatened species like sea turtles through veterinary medicine, scientific research, and conservation.
Maribel earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the Metropolitan
Autonomous University (UAM) before completing both her Master’s degree in
Wildlife Medicine and Management and her Ph.D. in Veterinary Medicine and
Animal Science at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), and is a WAVMA Certified Aquatic Veterinarian (CertAqV), one of the few veterinarians in Mexico to hold this international certification.
Over the past 11 years, Dr. Maribel has specialised in sea turtle medicine,
rehabilitation and conservation. She has worked extensively in rescue centers,
research laboratories, and turtle camps, while collaborating with government
agencies, universities, NGOs, and conservation programs throughout Latin
America. Her professional development has also been shaped by training and collaborations with organizations in Mexico, the United States, Argentina, Spain, the Canary Islands, Costa Rica, and the Maldives, providing her with a broad international perspective on marine wildlife conservation.
Her pioneering work on Rare Earth Elements (REE’s) has contributed to expanding scientific knowledge of emerging contaminants used in the technology industry into marine ecosystems within a One Health framework.
Dr Maribel joined the Olive Ridley Project in August 2026 as the Resident Veterinary Surgeon at the Marine Turtle Rescue Centre at Coco Palm Dhuni Kolhu, Maldives, where she combines veterinary medicine, research, and conservation to give every turtle patient the best possible chance of returning to the ocean.
In addition to her role at ORP, Dr Maribel also serves as Regional Chair for Latin America at Sea Turtle Rescue Alliance (STRA), Director at the Sea Turtle Rescue and Research Center in the Yucatan Peninsula (CRITM PY); and Board of Directors at the Sea Turtle Biobank Network for Latin America (BTML); and the Mexican Association of Turtle Veterinarians (AMVT).
