Wagner graduated from the National University of Costa Rica in 2011 with a Bachelor’s degree in Marine Biology. He started working with sea turtles as a field research assistant as a since high school, and has accumulated over 10 years of experience working with these magnificent animals in both Costa Rica’s Caribbean and Pacific coasts. Wagner has worked closely with several local community groups and has also presented some of his research results in International Sea Turtle Symposiums.   

Given the important interaction between sea turtles and fisheries, Wagner started working with small-scale fishing communities in 2007 under the support of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF). This experience gave him the tools to be involved in the development of Responsible Fishing Areas in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, together with the support of International Student Volunteers (ISV) in 2010. In 2014-15 Wagner lead an interdisciplinary team of professionals, which carried out a project focused on the evaluation and implementation of eight Costa Rican Marine Responsible Fishing Areas for the Interamerican Development Bank (IDB) and Fundación MarViva.

Wagner has a keen interest in local capacity building, collective social capital and scientific rigor for policymaking, particularly related to Costal and Marine Resources Management. He is a Latin American Fisheries Fellow, and has the postgraduate career goal to contribute to community managed fisheries in Latin America to achieve sustainable management of their marine resources.