I was born and raised in Switzerland, where I spent the first 39 years of my life living what many would consider a typical, privileged Swiss lifestyle – a good job, a successful career, financial stability, and plenty of material comfort. But a few years ago, I came to a life-changing realisation: despite having everything I was "supposed" to want, I wasn’t truly happy. I felt something was missing – a sense of purpose and a life lived in alignment with my heart.
Nature and safaris had always been a passion of mine, so I decided to take a leap of faith and follow that inner calling. I took a year off and enrolled in a professional field guide course in South Africa, with placements in Botswana and Zambia. I worked with children and communities in conservation education, capacity building, and research – and absolutely loved it. When the course ended, I knew I couldn’t go back to my old life in Switzerland. I had found not only my purpose, but also the love of my life – and a deep connection to Africa.
By chance, I discovered an opportunity at Sensing Clues, and after speaking with Jan-Kees, I realised it was the perfect bridge between my past experience and future goals. Today, I’m working part-time as an Impact Facilitator at Sensing Clues, where I manage marketing, communications, community engagement, and partnerships. Alongside this, I also help co-manage Kusasa, a donor lodge run by the Wild Tomorrow Fund, located in the heart of the stunning Greater Ukuwela Nature Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa – where I’m now living.
I joined WildHub because I truly believe in collaboration. At Sensing Clues, we work closely with passionate individuals from around the world to co-create innovative, volunteer-driven solutions for conservation. I’m here to connect with like-minded people, exchange knowledge, and share work opportunities to create a bigger, longer-lasting impact – together and beyond the front lines. We’ll soon be launching free online events through Sensing Clues, and I’d love to share them with this community – so that passionate individuals can learn, contribute, and get involved in meaningful ways. I also hope to share the practical knowledge and insights I gained in the bush while training and working as a guide.
I’m always looking to grow, explore new ideas, and keep learning. True to my motto – "Driven by purpose, guided by heart" – I believe that a meaningful life begins with passion, purpose, and connection.
Lovelater Sebele
Senior Vulture Conservation Officer - Southern Africa , BirdLife International
I am a conservationist with experience in species and landscape conservation as well as community engagement. I currently co-ordinate vulture conservation work in several southern African countries. Monitoring and Evaluation is an important part of what I do and I would like to improve my skills in that regard.
I am a storyteller and conservation communicator based in Mozambique. With a background in psychology, political science, and education, I weave together human-centered narratives that reflect the complexities of conservation work on the ground. Formerly a homeschooling teacher in a remote game reserve, I now work across departments to spotlight untold stories, bridge cultures, and explore the emotional landscape of environmental work.
Dawson N Metcalf
Program Coordinator for Conservation Leadership, Conservation Leadership-CSU
A conservation-based program administrator at Colorado State University with a background in international development, leadership education, and sustainability.
Yanna Vogiazou
Design Research | Behaviour Change | Service Design, Independent consultant (https://designfollowsinsight.com/)
Hello, I'm Yanna, a design consultant helping social and environmental impact organizations to design innovative solutions that address complex challenges. My approach combines human-centered design and behavior change strategies. I believe that understanding the drivers and barriers of human behavior in relation to environmental challenges is essential in order to design sustainable and transformative community programs that achieve conservation goals. I facilitate a design process with my clients to create tools, services and programs that drive systemic change, exploring solutions beyond campaigns and educational approaches.
I am really passionate about protecting nature and wildlife. Although my design experience stems mostly from healthcare, humanitarian aid, agriculture and climate change resilience programs (see https://designfollowsinsight.com/projects/), I have also worked on developing a biodiversity monitoring and reporting innovation strategy. My goal is to apply design research methodologies and innovation in the service of wildlife and nature.
Creative conservationist with a passion for imparting knowledge and inspiring connection with Nature. Conservation storyteller bringing a unique combination of knowledge, experience and skills to strategic collaborations for the good of wildlife and wild places.
I am Mahi Puri, originally from India. I currently live in Saipan (a small Pacific Island, near Guam where my husband is pursuing PhD in Marine Biology), while I work remotely for Cincinnati Zoo as a Coexistence Scientist. I completed my PhD in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation from University of Florida, integrating ecological and social science methods to prioritize areas for carnivore conservation in human-dominated landscapes of central India.
At Cincinnati Zoo, I work with their global in-situ conservation program, supporting various partners in capacity building and research support. I also lead the zoo's Fellowship Program where I mentor and guide Fellows (from local communities) working on various research projects including elephants in Thailand and India, gorilla-based ecotourism in Congo, human-carnivore conflict mapping in Kenya, songbirds monitoring in Ohio etc. I help the Fellows develop their Theories of Change and execute their projects over a 2-year period including data collection, analysis and writing. I would like to improve my training skills related to project planning, MEL etc, hence this course.
In my free time, I love making pottery, going hiking or scuba diving, or reading on my couch while snuggling with my two cats! :)
My background is mainly in species conservation, education and capacity exchange. 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 co-founded WildHub, a community of nature conservation professionals, in 2020 and work as their Community Lead. I am furthermore 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.
Hello! I'm Léa and I'm a WildLearning Specialist with WildTeam UK. I help create, design and deliver training courses. I love getting to know all the participants and learning from them :)
Previously, I was working with BirdLife International on forest governance issues and in my previous life I worked in the development sector in the United States. Education-wise, I have studied economic development, international relations as well as tropical forestry in the past.
Hope to catch you in a WildHub social!
I have 10 years of experience in animal welfare and conservation ranging from project management, work plans, and managing implementation partners to fundraising, strategic partnerships and communications. I'm also a registered veterinary nurse with knowledge and experience in zoonotic disease/one health.
I've done work in Zambia, Africa as well as on many elephant conservation campaigns.
My special interests are community conservation, counter wildlife trafficking, poaching , human-wildlife conflict, wildlife protection and behavior change.
I have 15 years experience writing grants, report and project proposals for environmental and conservation charities. I am joining WildHub to learn how to teach these skills to others in the sector.
A Conservation Biologist who enjoys working with birds as focal species to better understand and contribute to the conservation of the natural world. My work often includes a combination of fieldwork, citizen science, capacity building and some scientific writing. A strong academic and research background has helped me to appreciate the need for a science-driven approach to biodiversity conservation, while several years of working with various professionals, citizen scientists and local communities to design and implement biodiversity conservation projects has given me first-hand insight into the crucial role and importance of empowering and working with people if we must achieve sustainable natural resource management. I also really enjoy the opportunities that studying birds affords me to travel and see the world, and the diverse people and cultures that I have been privileged to experience and work with because of my study of birds.