People Type: Our Team

Barbara Vallarino is Manomet’s Senior Director of Giving, where she focuses on building relationships with donors and connecting their philanthropic interests with opportunities to advance Manomet’s mission.

Barbara brings more than 20 years of experience in conservation, nonprofit leadership, and fundraising. Most recently, she served for 14 years as Executive Director of EcoLogic Development Fund, where she led the organization’s efforts to protect and restore tropical ecosystems in partnership with rural and Indigenous communities and organizations in Central America and Mexico. She is a graduate of Dartmouth College and the University of Washington School of Law.

Barbara grew up in Panama, where her passion for nature began at an early age. She was drawn to Manomet by its commitment to rigorous science, its collaborative approach, and its hemispheric perspective, which builds on her long standing experience in Latin America while offering opportunities to deepen her knowledge and engage with new geographies. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the New England Biolabs Foundation and advises several nonprofit organizations working in conservation and international development

Katia is Belgian by origin and grew up in several African countries. She has lived and worked in Suriname since 1996 and brings a background in environmental and social development, conservation, community engagement, and project management.

Katia joined Manomet in 2024, initially supporting the development of the Guianas Green Coast Conservation Plan (GGCCP). Since August 2026, she has served as Manomet’s Regional Coordinator for the three Guianas, and is based in Paramaribo, Suriname. In her role at Manomet, Katia works with partners and stakeholders across the three Guianas to help move the Conservation Plan from strategy to action. She particularly enjoys building relationships, facilitating dialogue, and helping connect people and ideas across the region.

Much of Katia’s work has focused on bringing different perspectives together, particularly through engagement with Indigenous and Tribal communities. She is interested in the connections between natural resource use, livelihoods, cultural practices, and conservation. Before joining Manomet, she spent 15 years with the Amazon Conservation Team Guianas (2006–2020), where she was part of the management team and coordinated conservation and community-based projects. She also represented the organization in national and regional forums and developed culturally appropriate communication materials. Earlier in her career, she has also been teaching part-time for around 20 years (1996–2014), mainly at the Suriname Institute for Natural Resources and Engineering Studies (NATIN).

Katia holds an MSc in tropical agricultural engineering, specializing in rural development in low- and middle-income countries, from Ghent University in Belgium.

Why Manomet?

“I value Manomet’s collaborative approach to conservation and the opportunity to work with people across the Guianas toward a shared vision for the coast. For me, conservation works best when science, local knowledge, and the needs and aspirations of communities can come together.”

Robbie is Manomet’s Development Operations Manager, where he keeps the day-to-day operations of the fundraising team moving. He’s the person behind the scenes making sure donor information stays organized, gifts get where they need to go, and the team has what it needs to support Manomet’s work. Before joining Manomet, Robbie spent more than a decade in nonprofit development operations, most recently at Boston MedFlight, where he supported fundraising efforts for critical care air ambulance services.

Originally from Virginia, Robbie grew up exploring Chesapeake Bay and hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains, experiences that shaped his appreciation for the outdoors. He now lives in Hudson, Massachusetts, with his wife and their dog, Lacie.

In the summer, Robbie spends much of his time at a small lakeside cabin in rural Connecticut, where he and his wife are slowly turning a renovation project into a place to kayak, unwind, and enjoy a Finnish wood-fired sauna.

Michelle Stantial is a quantitative ecologist whose work lies at the intersection of quantitative ecology and decision science, helping managers navigate complex conservation challenges involving deep uncertainty and competing objectives. Her expertise includes developing spatial capture-recapture models, hierarchical models of animal abundance and occurrence, and applying structured decision-making and decision analysis to conservation challenges. She has partnered with state and federal agencies, NGOs, and Tribal partners to translate science into practical management decisions.

Michelle earned her Ph.D. and M.S. in Wildlife Biology and Management from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) and her B.S. in Biology from Marietta College. Outside of work, Michelle is an avid birder and naturalist who enjoys mountain biking, ski mountaineering, and spending as much time outdoors as possible with her dog, Tallulah.

Manuel recently joined Manomet’s Flyways Team as a Youth Engagement Specialist. In this role, he supports the continued growth of Experiencia Ambientalia at Laguna Mar Chiquita and helps expand the program to other saline lakes and WHSRN sites across the Americas. His work focuses on coordinating activities and volunteers, developing educational materials, supporting impact tracking and reporting, and building meaningful connections between communities that share important habitats for migratory shorebirds.

Manuel is a senior Systems Engineering student at the National Technological University in Tucumán, Argentina. He has more than five years of experience coordinating environmental and technology-focused education programs with Fundación Líderes de Ansenuza. He has helped design and implement youth programs, support participants throughout their learning experiences, and strengthen international partnerships. He also has experience in data analysis, using data to organize, track, and communicate information that supports decision-making.

He is excited to join Manomet because of its commitment to connecting science, communities, and conservation action across the hemisphere. Manuel is especially inspired by the opportunity to help young people understand the value and become active leaders in protecting the places they live in.

Outside of work, Manuel enjoys watching and playing sports, especially soccer. He also enjoys spending time outdoors, hiking and birding.