Bill Saltzstein
The People of The Peregrine Fund: Gabriela Díaz
“In college, I studied hotel management,” shares our Hispaniola Program Coordinator Gabriela “Gabby” Díaz. “I had this idea that I could become a chef. And after the first few cooking classes…” She pauses and begins laughing. “I just realized that it wasn’t for me!”
Finding what to do instead would take a little more time. While working what she describes as a “corporate 9 to 5 job,” Gabby felt very unfulfilled. “It made me really sad, if I’m honest.” The Dominican Republic native made a comment about her situation to a friend—a friend that just so happened to volunteer for TPF Dominican Republic, our effort to restore the Ridgway’s Hawk, a Critically Endangered raptor found only on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. The friend suggested Gabby send a message to the project director. “And that’s when everything started for me,” she smiles.
A few messages later, Gabby was volunteering with the project. “I was only supposed to stay for four months, but I just loved it so much that I ended up staying,” she remembers. “What captured my heart was that the Ridgway’s Hawk is such a unique and special species—but very few people in the Dominican Republic even know about it. I didn’t either until I started working for The Peregrine Fund. I think that’s what’s drawn me the most, that I knew that I could do something to help this species and to do something good for my country.”
That was 2019. Today, Gabby is a full-time staff member overseeing the subpopulation of Ridgway’s Hawks in Punta Cana, one of two new subpopulations we’ve established. That means long days in the field, but also in the office doing less flashy but just as important administrative tasks. “I also do a lot of environmental education,” she continues. “Going to communities, going to schools to do presentations with our avian ambassadors, conducting teacher training workshops.” She pauses again, then smiles. “Anything and everything we need.”
It took a circuitous route to get there, but Gabby loves where she’s ended up. And with the Ridgway’s Hawk’s overall population doubled since our work there began, things are looking up for both Gabby and the hawks. “My advice is that no matter what your career path is, or was, you can be the positive change that we need to see in conservation,” she says. “You can help species come back from the brink of extinction.”
