Team
The PanEco Foundation employs an average of 25 people in Switzerland and 5 in Indonesia. Through our partner foundation YEL, another about 80 people work for our projects in Sumatra. The dedicated team of qualified employees ensures a high level of expertise and commitment to the achievement of PanEco’s goals. PanEco’s eight-member Board of Trustees bears overall responsibility and is in charge of the foundation’s strategic orientation.
PanEco
head office
Katja Kolitzus
Marcel Etterlin
Irena Wettstein
Melina Erdin
Amber Gooijer
PanEco Programmes Indonesia
Dr. Ian Singleton
Vicky Dauncey
Berg am Irchel Bird of Prey Sanctuary
Amber Gooijer
Léo Vogel
Thurauen Nature Centre and Ranger Service Thurauen
Christoph Stäheli
Michaela Driessen
Heri Rappolt
János Rumpel
Thomas Meier
Board of Trustees
Regina Frey, a biologist, is the founder of the PanEco Foundation. The work of our foundation is based on her visions. With great commitment, she has been president of the foundation since 1996.
Other mandates:
- President Chloster 3
- President Stiftung Regenwald
- President Genossenschaft Lindenmühle
- Member of the Board of Directors of Orang Utan Regenwald GmbH
- Council member of the Indonesian YEL Foundation
- Member of the Green Party, Canton of Zurich
Asset manager Karin Koch has been a member of the Board of Trustees since 2014. She is deputy president, deals with the financial area of the foundation and is committed to environmental education.
Other mandates:
- President of the Board of Directors of Koch & Partner Finanzberatung AG
Claudia Lutz-Campell, lic. phil. specialist psychologist for psychotherapy, has been a member of PanEco’s Board of Trustees since 2007 and lives in a neighbouring village of Berg am Irchel. As a psychologist, she is available to PanEco for concerns and questions as needed.
Protecting the habitat of the Sumatran orangutans has also been a deep concern of hers as a family therapist since her visit with Regina Frey to the rainforest near Bohorok. The following observation shaped Ms Lutz-Campell: “At dizzying heights, I saw a mother orangutan watching her young son climb with total presence – no mobile phone and no rushing – after fifteen minutes she calmly grabbed her son and put him back on her back.”
Other mandates:
- Founding member of Genossenschaft zum Rebstock Rüdlingen for mixed-age living in the village
The entertainer Viktor Giacobbo from Winterthur is passionate about the orangutans in Sumatra. Project visits are a matter of heart for him and he has been passionately and publicly promoting our messages for several years.
Other mandates:
- Chairman of the Board of Directors of Casino Theater AG in Winterthur
- Member of the Board of Directors of Kein & Aber Verlag
- Member of the Board of Trustees of Tele D
Emeritus Professor of Anthropology and Zoology Carel van Schaik has been officially involved with the PanEco Foundation since 2018. He is distinguished by his many years of experience in orangutan research in Sumatra and Borneo. Carel van Schaik is a behavioural biologist, evolutionary biologist, evolutionary anthropologist, tropical ecologist and conservationist. In his books he tries to better understand human behaviour so that we can create a fair, sustainable world where there will still be room for natural organisms like orangutans.
Other mandates:
- Member of the Board of Trustees of A.H. Schultz Stiftung and Julius Klaus Stiftung
- Senior Advisor NCCR Evolving Language
- Max Planck Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Animal Behavior
Samuel Frey is a gastro-entrepreneur from Winterthur and has known the PanEco Foundation and its activities very well since his youth. Due to his family history, he has a close connection to Indonesia and the PanEco projects there. He has been involved in the Board of Trustees since 2014.
Other mandates:
- Council member of the Indonesian YEL Foundation
The environmental engineer and environmental education expert Thomas Hofstetter was elected to the Board of Trustees in 2021. His commitment is to transformative education on the path to sustainable development.
Other mandates:
- Research associate at the Sustainability Communication and Environmental Education Research Group of the Zurich University of Applied Sciences.
- Freelance experiential educator and hiking guide
- Member of the Steering Group of Fachkonferenz Umweltbildung (Conference on Environmental Education)
Sustainability expert Peter Hollenstein has been involved with the PanEco Foundation since 2021. For many years, he has been professionally and privately committed to sustainable development and environmental protection.
Other mandates:
- Managing Director of the swiss-made sustainable outdoor clothing manufacturer ROTAUF
