After finishing her studies in biology at the University of Zurich, she travelled with a fellow student to Sumatra. On behalf of WWF International, the Indonesian government and the Frankfurt Zoological Society, the two women set up the first orangutan rehabilitation centre in Bukit Lawang in the Gunung Leuser National Park.
After returning to Switzerland, Regina Frey continued her active involvement in the projects she initiated or supported in Indonesia. The increased contact with organisations and state authorities made it necessary to institutionalise her work. As a result, in 1996 she established the non-profit PanEco Foundation with headquarters in Berg am Irchel, the place where Regina Frey grew up.
