Bárbara Galletti Vernazzani

Bárbara Galletti joined Pacific Whale Foundation in 2023 as a Research Associate, although her work in Chile has been financially supported by Pacific Whale Foundation since 2012. Her role is to produce scientific outputs and management actions in Chile in support of the Global Impact Plan. Barbara graduated from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile with a degree in civil and industrial engineering. She holds certifications in Ecological Economics from the University of Barcelona (Spain), Socially Responsible Finance from Alanus University (Germany) and completed a Manager Training Programme from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (Germany). Her experience includes research of blue whales and southern right whales, focusing on population assessments and mitigating anthropogenic threats, as well as policy development at a national and international level.

Memberships and affiliations:

Bárbara is President and Scientific Director of the Chilean NGO Centro de Conservacion Cetacea. She serves as technical advisor for Chile’s delegation to the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and as an invited member of the IWC Scientific Committee. She is also coordinator of IWC Conservation Management Plan for eastern South Pacific southern right whales, chair of the IWC Conservation Committee working group on Cetaceans and Ecosystem Functioning, curator of IWC Southern Hemisphere Blue Whale Catalogue and regional coordinator of the Southern Ocean Research Partnership. She is member of the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Species Survival Commission Cetacean Specialist Group and Associate Editor of the scientific journal Behaviour. She received the Bharathi Viswanathan Award for Innovative and Non-Invasive Research (2018), the Future for Nature Award (2011) and the Rufford Innovation Award (2006).