Directorate

Where the Council is the driver, the Directorate of the EUROPARC Federation is the engine of the organisation. Our team members are split between the headquarters in Regensburg (DE), an office in Brussels (BE) and another office in Barcelona (ES). They manage a number of important European projects and represent the Federation and its members’ interests. The Directorate of the EUROPARC Federation is committed to fulfilling the aims of the organisation and to deliver its strategic goals.

The work of the Federation is overseen by the EUROPARC Council and President. They bring a wealth of experience and expertise to bear on the work of the Federation and also represent EUROPARC across Europe.

The work of the Federation is also supported by efforts from EUROPARC Sections and our Commissions and Task Forces, as well as many other dedicated individuals and members who share our passion and support our work.

Would you like to join our team?

Check out the current job opportunities or send us your motivation letter & CV. We are always open to welcome university students from 5-6 months internships in Regensburg (communications & digital media) or Brussels (environmental policy).

EUROPARC Federation staff

The multi-national team based at the EUROPARC Headquarters and our office in Brussels, comprises a small core staff. Together they coordinate the varied activities of the EUROPARC Federation across Europe.

General enquiries can be directed to the email or the headquarters postal address at the bottom of the page or to europarc(at)europarc.org.

Individual members can be contacted by using the email formula:

firstname.lastname@europarc.org

Executive Director

Carol Ritchie (Scotland, UK) carol.ritchie@…
As her title suggests Carol is responsible for the smooth running of all the Federation Directorate and its work. Carol operates across Europe, out of both the Regensburg and Brussels offices as well as anywhere else needed, to represent the Federation’s interest and to support the work of the President and Council. She mainly works in English.

Managing Director

Federico Minozzi (IT) federico.minozzi@…
Federico shares responsibility with the Executive Director for most aspects of management of the Federation. He concentrates in particular on the EUROPARC policy and advocacy work in close cooperation with European institutions and other NGOs and partners institutions. Federico is also coordinating the Junior Ranger Programme. Federico speaks Italian, French and English.

Communications and IT Officer

Fernando Pinillos (ES) fernando.pinillos@…

Fernando is our Communications officer, responsible for multimedia production and managing IT systems. With a mixed background in marine conservation and communications, he speaks Spanish, English and Catalan. His work is focused in supporting the development of European projects, such as LIFE eNatura2000.edu, LIFE NaturAdapt and LIFE Enable, and coordinates our activities related with Marine Protected Areas.

Policy and Project Manager I Sustainable Tourism Manager

Teresa Pastor (ES) teresa.pastor@…

Teresa is the former Coordinator of Fedenatur and, after its integration with EUROPARC, is currently in charge of the Periurban dossier among other matters. Teresa is based in Barcelona office, kindly hosted by the Collserola Natural Park, and brings a huge knowledge on nature conservation and marine issues to the EUROPARC directorate. Teresa speaks Catalan, Spanish, French, English and Italian.

Policy Officer

Stefania Petrosillo (IT) stefania.petrosillo@…

Stefania is our Policy Officer in Brussels and represents EUROPARC member’s interests towards the European Institutions. Stefania is expert in advocacy and policy, and works in close cooperation with international NGOs and other EUROPARC partners. She is also the person in charge of the EUROPARC Transboundary Parks Program. You can contact Stefania in Italian, English, French and Spanish. Currently, she is also “refreshing” German.

Project Manager LIFE ENABLE

Neil McIntosh (UK) neil.mcintosh@…

Neil is Project Manager for the LIFE ENABLE and was previous Project Manager for the ‘LIFE e-natura2000.edu’ project, supporting e-learning, open education and capacity building for Natura 2000 managers. As a qualified trainer and assessor of learning and development programmes, the focus of his work in EUROPARC is to support networking, learning and the professional development of people and organisations. Neil’s native language is English, but he also speaks Dutch.

Project Manager, ‘LIFE Nature Adapt’

Olivier de Sadeleer (BE), olivier.desadeleer@…

Olivier will represent the “voice” of European Protected Areas in the LIFE project ‘NaturAdapt’. It aims at adapting nature protection practices to the challenges of climate change in Europe through dynamic and collective learning.

Holding an MA in cultural anthropology, Olivier brings his passion for wilderness and longstanding experience in business development & communication (incl. digital) to help increase the impact of EUROPARC’s projects. Based in Brussels, he speaks both French and English.

Communications Officer

Esther Bossink (NL) esther.bossink@…

Esther is our Communications Officer. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Comparative European Ethnology, Political Science and Gender Studies, she followed a traineeship as a project and event manager in the semi-private sector. After finishing the program, she started freelancing for both non-profit and for-profit organisations in the field of communications. She is passionate about the environment, biodiversity and equality, which is how she ended up at the EUROPARC Federation. Here she creates content for the EUROPARC website, social media and newsletters. Additionally, she works on EUROPARC productions like the Annual Report, Protected Areas In-Sight, policy papers and webinars. You can contact Esther in Dutch, German and English.

Financial Manager

Michaela Zeller (CZ) michaela.zeller@…

Michaela is our Finance Manager. She is responsible for leading the finance and accounting of the Federation, based on EUROPARC’s mission and values. She takes over independently the financial management of national and international funding projects. You can contact her in English, German, Czech, Slovak or even Bavarian.

Finance and Administration Officer

Cristina Popa (RO) cristina.popa@…

Cristina is a nature lover, passionate and committed to environmental sustainability. She joined EUROPARC as she feels the NGO culture suits her better: working for mission-based organizations, rather than profit-based ones. “Here the priority is to work towards a specific goal that somehow helps people or the environment, rather than to work primarily for a profit for a board of directors and investors.”

Cristina is responsible for financial and administrative tasks, travel and council management, and gives support in many other tasks that we deal with every day. Moreover, she is involved in the financial reporting of EU- and non-EU-funded projects and deals with members request as she believes  Cristina speaks Romanian, English, German, Spanish and understands Italian.

Finance and Membership Officer

Carolina Mock (MD) carolina.mock@…

Since becoming a mom of two kids, Carolina started to rethink the things that really matter in life. The global environmental issues worry her, especially when thinking about the future of her children, and the future of the young generation. That’s why she joined EUROPARC: to contribute to the mission of nature conservation and sustainable development. Carolina is responsible for bookkeeping and travel management and is the contact person for solving any inquiries coming from the members. Carolina speaks Russian, German, Romanian, English, and French.

Project Officer and Communications Assistant

Sandra Grego (CRO) sandra.grego@…

Sandra is Project Officer and Communications Assistant. She first joined EUROPARC as an intern in the Communications Department, while she was still studying Journalism and Public Relations at the Faculty of Political Science. Her work now contributes to the successful execution of the LIFE ENABLE project and EUROPARC’s communication activities. Sandra speaks Croatian, English and ein bisschen Deutsch!

Projects Administrative Assistant

Adelina Nagy (RO) adelina.nagy@…

From a young age, Adelina has been interested in nature and environmental care. She has always been concerned about the ease with which entire environments can be destroyed. She got involved as much as she could, while living and working in Romania, in pro-environmental activities. Adelina joined EUROPARC because working for an NGO that deals with the conservation of natural areas gives her the opportunity to continue her fight for environmental protection at a higher level. Her work consists in using her knowledge and skills to support the Finance department with project reporting and travel administration. Adelina speaks Romanian, English, German, and a bit of Spanish.

Project Manager NaturaConnect

Marit Schnepf (DE) marit.schnepf@…

Marit is our Project Manager for the NaturaConnect Project, which aims to design a resilient and coherent Trans-European Network for Nature and People. The focus of her work is capacity building, stakeholder engagement and communications.

Marit holds a Msc in Natural Resource Management and Development and a BSc in Environmental Science. She is passionate about landscape connectivity, species conservation and eager to apply participatory approaches in conservation.

Marit is based in Regensburg and speaks German, English and Spanish.

Project Officer NaturaConnect

Anna Castelli (IT) anna.castelli@…

Anna is our project officer for Natura Connect, focusing on stakeholder engagement and capacity building. She has a Masters in international cooperation and worked in development aid and humanitarian assistance in several countries. She is passionate about participation, accountability and promotion of rights. Anna is based in Regensburg and you can address her in Italian, English, German, Spanish.

Youth Officer

Jessica Micklem-Kolenić (DE & RSA) jessica.micklem@…

Jessica is the Youth Officer at EUROPARC. Her main task is to support the administration and implementation of various projects and, specifically, EUROPARC’s Youth activities across all EUROPARC activities.

Jessica has an MSc in Tropical Biodiversity and Ecosystems, and a BSc Honours in Marine Biology. She is passionate about meaningful youth engagement and has been volunteering as a youth activist in European and International biodiversity policy spaces.

She is based in Regensburg, speaks English, German and Afrikaans, and is trying to learn French.

Monika Medunova (CZ) monika.medunova@…

Bookkeeper

Monika sees herself as a person in constant evolution: learning, adapting, and reinventing herself, hence why she decided to join EUROPARC Directorate.
She is one of the bookkeepers of the Federation.

Monika can be contacted in Czech, English and German.

Katrin Varnhagen@ (DE) katrin.varnhagen@…

Bookkeeper

Katrin rejoined EUROPARC in 2022 as the main accountant after working for the organisation for more than 9 years. She was interested in environmental protection from an early age and joined the local Greenpeace group as a pupil. As a student, she worked as a volunteer for the environmental organisation BUND. She is happy to support EUROPARC with her expertise again.

She can be contacted in English and German