Gisele Montano
(She/Her)
Director of Species Sustainability
Gisele is a veterinarian and studies physiology of reproduction in marine animals.
Originally from Brazil, Dr. Montano went to Mexico City in 1999 to study Veterinary Medicine at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico (UNAM). While completing her veterinary degree, she assisted in a study on reproduction, behavior and stress in bottlenose dolphins.
In early 2008 she started to assist the SeaWorld and Busch Gardens Species Preservation Laboratory (SPL) in San Diego, and in 2010 she received her master’s degree in Animal Science at Texas A&M University. Her research on reproductive physiology focused on sexing technology applied to frozen-thawed spermatozoa from bottlenose dolphin.
Gisele worked as a Research Associate at the SPL – San Diego and Orlando and collaborated on various studies in several different species such as dolphins, beluga, killer whales, penguins, elephants, rhinos and most currently sharks. She has participated in 12 Ocearch expeditions, sampling white sharks in the East Coast of United States and Canada.
Gisele was recently named director of Species Sustainability for SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment, and she uses her knowledge in animal reproduction to improve the overall population management of different species at SeaWorld and Busch Gardens zoological institutions.
Through the Homeward Bound program, Gisele hopes to inspire kids and women from Latin cultures. Outside of work, Gisele likes to spend time with her two sons and exploring nature.
