Olivia Walter
Executive Director, Wildlife Vets International
- Member directory
- United Kingdom
Nervours Daka
Donor Relations Specialist, AFRICAN HEALTH VOLUNTEERS FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE RESCUE AND REFERRALS PARTNERSHIPS
Hello there
I am a Donor relations specialist and grant writer learner eager to learn more about conservation organizations and the grant writing process that supports writing winning project proposals for conservation projects and non-conservation projects in Africa, particularly Zambia with a focus on biodiversity conservation, wildlife conservation health and community development projects
My background is mainly in species conservation, education and capacity development. I researched mother-young interactions in gorillas and chimpanzees, in captivity and the wild. After that, I worked for three years in Indonesia, where I developed and implemented youth ambassador and community engagement programmes on local and regional scales. I work as Community Manager at WildHub since 2020, and I am on the Advisory Board of the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) at the University of Kent where I obtained my PhD on capacity development for conservation in 2022.
I am a veterinary surgeon, I have worked for 8 years in small animal practice in the UK, have completed my Master's in Wild Animal Health at the RVC in London and have spent a year travelling and gaining experience of veterinary work with wild animals abroad. I am actively looking for opportunities to start a PhD, ideally looking into infectious diseases in primates which is my strongest area of interest. During my Master's degree, I completed my research project focusing on the diagnostic options for respiratory tuberculosis in sanctuary-housed chimpanzees.
I am a wildlife veterinarian specializing in great apes and monkeys but I also enjoy working with elephants, cobras and a variety of other endangered species. I traveled regularly between rescue and rehabilitation centers in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the United States. I mentor new veterinarians and teach at St. George's University of Veterinary Medicine in the Caribbean. I have a Masters in Veterinary Epidemiology from University College London with my thesis being done with ZSL regarding the endangered red squirrels of Great Britain.
I currently work in the Corporate sector but am looking to make the change and am working towards a career change, particularly focusing on wildlife conservation. Alongside my trustee role at Helping Rhinos I have recently completed a Masters in NGO Management with a specialism in Grant Making & Philanthropy. Now I'm qualified I'm looking to expand my network alongside completing some Wildlife Conservation specific training.
I help run a UK charity that builds the capacity of conservationists to plan, implement, monitor, and report on their work. I also have a fair bit of experience in tiger and sea turtle conservation.
Highly experienced in supporting policy and decision making through delivering data on marine species, coastal pollution, and water delivery on the local, state, and federal levels. Early in my career I took every opportunity I could to gain experience in marine mammal science from California to Quebec. These opportunities created strong connections eventually guiding me to researching plastic pollution while earning my masters degree. As I finished writing my thesis, I began working with NASA on projects using satellite imagery and big data to investigate drought, this experience immensely strengthened my project management, mapping, and analytical skills. Last year I ventured into conservation writing wanting to build on my science communication skills. I would be happy to feature your project or career journey as a blog post within WildHub, so feel free to reach out to set up a short chat/interview.