Mireya Correa instituted and directed the University of Panama Herbarium and presently directs STRI’s Herbarium. During her tenure she has significantly supplemented the collections at both herbaria through collaborations with institutions in the U.S. and Europe. She also directs an active collecting program at STRI and the University of Panama, training students and conducting annual field trips to areas of difficult access such as Coiba Island and Cerro Hoya in Panama’s Azuero Peninsula.

During her career, Correa has collected approximately 12,000 specimens, many of which have been identified as new species. She continues to build a better understanding of species distribution within the Republic of Panama, including the environmental status of each species (i.e., as endemic, endangered, rare, threatened). An important goal of her research is to document the plant species represented in several Panamanian national parks, which will provide an important tool for park management. In addition, she collaborates with the Pharmacognostic Research Center at the University of Panama on research into medicinal applications for native plants. She has received several awards and prizes for her contributions to botany. Mireya lead the Plants Initiative on behalf of STRI and the University of Panama, for a period of one year and she continues to support it through her contacts with colleagues from the region. 

Gloria Jované has worked at STRI since 1991 in a variety of positions and is currently senior executive assistant to the director and regional coordinator for the Plants Initiative. She obtained an MBA in Leadership and Management Development from the Universidad Latinoamericana de Comercio Exterior in Panama, and graduated Suma Cum Laude with a Bachelors degree in Hotel Administration from the Latin American Science & Technology University.

She worked at the US Agency for International Development and at the Bank of America prior to starting to work for STRI. For most of her career, Gloria has been involved with the management of STRI's directors' office, and for four years assumed the role of protocol officer for STRI.

Gloria serves as regional coordinator of the Plants Initiative for Latin America. She is our liaison between partners and potential partners and the Mellon Foundation; organizes related international meetings; prepares grant proposals; and is responsible for submitting progress reports on STRI grants for this project.

Maria Stapf  obtained her bachelor’s degree in Biology with specialization in Botany, in 1991 and a Masters degree in Science with specialization in Ecology and Conservation, from Universidad Católica Santa Maria La Antigua, in 2001. In 2007, she obtained her PhD. from Universidad Estadual de Feira de Santana, Brasil. She has been author and co-author in several scientific publications. She is a taxonomist and her interest is oriented to the systematic and phylogeny of the Boraginaceae family. She works at the SCZ Herbarium of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama since 1995. Maria is our liaison with herbaria from Brasil; she supervises the work of the technicians working on this initiative from SCZ and PMA, and she also trains technicians from Central and South America who come to STRI to learn how to use the equipment and create the databases.