
THE TEAM

Max-Olivier Bourcoud
SCS founder & president
Passionate about marine biology and ocean conservation, Max-Olivier Bourcoud is the founder and current president of the Swiss Cetacean Society - SCS.
For over ten years, he was a Whaling Protection Consultant for Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan at the Animal Welfare Department of the Bellerive Foundation in Geneva.
In addition to his active commitment to ecology in Switzerland, he regularly participates in numerous environmental missions, whether marine or terrestrial, on different islands of the Hawaiian archipelago, Florida, France and England.
Max-Olivier Bourcoud is also responsible for the environment and sustainable development aspect of international equine events organized by Equissima in Lausanne.
In the field of education, Max-Olivier Bourcoud is a post-compulsory specialist teacher, which brings him to teach ecology and sustainable development in a vocational school. He is also a didactician in Education with regards to the environment and sustainable development, as well as a pedagogical accompanist for teachers in training in French-speaking Switzerland.

Charlotte Bellot
Executive director, education & awareness coordinator
Graduated in Biology since 2018 with a specialization in marine biology, Charlotte participated in a research project on humpback whales in the Atlantic Ocean which aimed to estimate the physical condition of individuals using aerial images collected via drone. Passionate about scientific communication, biodiversity and the preservation of natural heritage, she has been working on a regular basis since 2017 with the SCS, in particular for cetology courses, scientific expertise, interviews, helping to run the SCS stands at events, as well as fundraising & scientific data collection for the India project. He is also SCS guide and is currently working on a possible future long-term collaboration between the Comoros Green Turtle Project and the University of Neuchatel.

Ivan Martin
«Indian Coasts Conservation» project coordinator, communication officer
SCS guide
With a Master degree in tourism and animals rights, Ivan has specialized in marine wildlife tourism through several expeditions and courses including South Africa, India and the Mediterranean Sea. As a strong animal advocate, he is interested in ways to reconcile species conservation and ecotourism. He joined the SCS in 2016, where he acts as SCS guide, on social media and in communication. He also coordinate the «Indian Coasts Conservation» project in collaboration with Terra Conscious. Since 2020, Ivan is responsible for the collaboration between the SCS and the World Cetacean Alliance (WCA), as WCA regional representative for Europe.

Melissa Bill
Vaquita project coordinator, volunteer coordinator
SCS guide
With a Master degree in Environmental Science and Engineering from EPFL, Melissa has always been fascinated by dolphins and wanted to contribute to the conservation of biodiversity. She aspires to create harmonious encounters between humans and marine mammals. As a SCS guide, she is currently in charge of the volunteers and coordinates the "Vaquita" activities.

Mélanie Jotterand
Website coordinator
Active for 10 years in marketing and with a degree in tourism management, Mélanie has a particular interest for travel, nature and diving. Fascinated by the marine environment, she wants to contribute to the protection of endangered species by sharing her digital knowledge for the benefit of the SCS, she is therefore responsible for the SCS website.

Pierre-André Barras
Accountant
As an accountant of the SCS, Pierre-André oversees the registration processes and accounting operations relative to SCS’s offshore programs.

Dr. Christine Vincenzetti
Consultant in development
PhD in Neuroimmunology, Christine has been involved in the protection of marine mammals for over 20 years. Christine specialised in marine mammal bioacoustics as part of her diploma work, which was the first of its kind at the University of Neuchatel. She has studied many species of marine mammals in the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans and in the Mediterranean. With a PhD in neuroscience and a career of near 15 years in the private industry, Christine provides strategic advice for the development of the SCS.

Dr. Lida Kypriotou
« Ionian Dolphin Project » and « Mediterranean monk seals » project coordinator
PhD in molecular biology, Lida is passionate about marine environment, photography and travel. For the past ten years, she has devoted a great deal of her free time volunteering for the welfare of children and animals. She is currently the SCS Coordinator of the «Ionian Dolphin Project» and «Mediterranean monk seals» projects, in collaboration with the Tethys Research Institute and the CBD-Habitat non-profit foundation.

Laura Galbiati
Green turtle project coordinator
SCS guide
For many years, Laura has been passionate about nature and particularly the marine environment which led her to study biology at the University of Lausanne. She coordinates the project for the protection of green turtles in the Comoros Islands.

Imen Amraoui
Newsletter Coordinator
Graduated in Communication from MarKom, Imen contributes to the SCS in particular through the newsletter and communication with the eco-volunteers and SCS-members.
Our captains

Gilles Martin
Captain
Owner of the Merrespect
Professor of Physics-Chemistry and confirmed sailor, Gilles is the owner of Merrespect, transoceanic catamaran Lagoon 47 of 14m10. He puts his skills and spare time at the disposal of marine mammals through SCS. His thirty years of experience allow him to share his passion with the greatest number of the other members of the SCS in the respect of the ecology and the marine environment.