The Founding Veterinarians and Brazilian Team

Team Photo above

Martine Schmid-Fiorini (3rd from right) and Peter Schmid (2nd from right), with Brazilian colleagues and staff.

Martine Schmid-Fiorini

Vice President and Project Manager Brazil

Born 1952, from Märstetten TG. Martine Schmid-Fiorini is a a veterinarian, Swiss federally certified biologist and an accredited naturopath in the canton of Thurgau, Switzerland.

She is a Swiss and French dual citizen. Before emigrating to Brazil in 2011 together with her husband, Pedro Schmid, she successfully ran a practice of classical homeopathy for humans and animals in Switzerland. At the end of 2020, Martine Schmid-Fiorini and Pedro Schmid returned to Switzerland and now manage the aid project and the Brazilian team out of Switzerland.

Peter Schmid (Pedro),

Board Member and Project Manager Brazil

Born in 1945, from St. Gallen. Peter Schmid is a Swiss federally certified veterinarian and a dual citizen from Switzerland and Columbia. He grew up with his Swiss parents in Bogota, Colombia. At the age of 20 he came to Switzerland, where he studied veterinary medicine in Zurich. He then worked as a veterinarian in various practices and was responsible for meat inspection and slaughterhouse hygiene (Veterinary Public Health) in a Swiss slaughterhouse from 1985 until his early retirement in 2005.

From 2011 to 2020, Martine and Peter Schmid lived in Iporanga, Sao Paulo State, Brazil, where they were passionate about setting up various animal welfare projects, including the first project for the care and reintroduction of animals from the illegal trade. Martine and Pedro also founded the “Associação Céline” (the Brazilian equivalent to the Swiss association), which formally runs the aid project.

The Brazilian Team

Isaìas Santos - Technical Director

Born 1979 in Iporanga. Isaias is a biologist with post-graduate degree in Wildlife Conservation and Management.

Before joining us, Isaías worked for several years as a technical biologist in the Betary Reserve.

In 1999, Isaías also became a nature guide with cave training. He has extensive knowledge of the local fauna and flora.

Ary Rodriguez del Diego and Vilma Timoteu Pires

Lawyers, members of the “Associação Céline”. Both are ardent defenders of the Atlantic primeval forest and its biodiversity. They have already actively participated in numerous animal protection projects and are committed to the project.

Sérgio Luiz Pompéia

Agronomist, PhD in environmental science and botany.
Founder of CPEA, a consulting firm for environmental planning and studies.

Founder and President of the Institute for Biodiversity Research IPBio. Sergio Luiz Pompeia has 34 years of experience in environmental planning and management. He has coordinated more than 200 projects of major importance at the national level.