The team
Meet the people behind Kahibalo Foundation!
Kahibalo Team
People behind Kahibalo Foundation, in and out of the Philippines.
Dr. Filip J. Wojciechowski
Founder and President of the Foundation
Filip J. Wojciechowski is an environmental biologist trained in Poland and in Denmark, specialized in primates. He has started his career in a Nocturnal House in Poznań Zoo where he assisted the staff to take care of a range of nocturnal mammals. Alongside his studies he was also involved in bird ringing, seals care and training at the Baltic Sea coast, research on sexual behaviour of spiders in Denmark, and public outreach on parasites in Adam Mickiewicz University. Encouraged to do more, he later set off on the journey to Vietnam where he studied the population of the critically endangered Delacour’s langur (Trachypithecus delacouri). This is when he fell in love with South-East Asia and soon after he went to the Philippines where he spent several years managing the Philippine tarsier (Carlito syrichta) conservation project on Bohol Island. During those years he executed several zoological research projects and designed several educational programmes for local people. Work in the Foundation combines its two main passions – Asia and primates.
Dr. Julie B. Otadoy
Activities Coordinator in the Philippines
Julie B. Otadoy is a Professor of Environmental Science in the Department of Biology at the University of San Carlos (USC) in Cebu City. She has a doctoral degree in Environmental Science from the University of the Philippines-Diliman Campus (UPD), Diliman, Quezon City. Her research interests are in the areas of global biodiversity and conservation, functional ecology, parasitology and environmental science. She led a number of projects such as the Resource Valuation Project in Central Cebu Protected Landscape as well as the Monitoring of Aquatic Ecosystems and Social Development in the Municipality of Cordova, Cebu related to the construction of the Cebu-Cordova Link Express (Cebu-Mactan Third Bridge). She was also leading the Forest Resources Section of the USC PHIL LiDAR Project 2, assessing nationwide resources. Together with Filip, she decided to continue studying the incredible nature of her country and embarked on conservation efforts to protect Philippine tarsier and colugo in Bohol.
Maristela C. Ochea
Coordinator of the Foundation in Bilar
Mariz is a primary school teacher in Bilar and helps us coordinating activities in Bohol.
Barbara Kubiak
Website designer
Basia works for a tour operator in Poznań. She created our website and also helps with social media.
Kasia Soińska
Social Media
Kasia is a social media specialist and advises us on this matter. In addition, she designs amazing jewelry!
Special thanks
We would also like to thank all the people and institutions who have helped us significantly on many levels so far: Dr. Hyacinth Suarez and other Holy Name University staff, Dr. Jonie Yee and other staff of the University of San Carlos, Habitat Bohol Highland Nature Resort, Dr. Maria Albo, Martyna Bela, Magdalena Mueller, Grazia Brown, Francesca Forestieri, Karolina Piotrowska, Kieran McElhinney and Hikari Nakaya.
The institutions which we cooperate with also deserve a special place. Thank you for your trust and support you give to our mission!