Abdirisak Ibrahim (He/Him)

Founder and CEO, Species Savior
T'Noya Thompson

Owner, Consultant, Wild Spark Consulting

Born and raised in The Bahamas, I cultivated a profound affinity for the ocean, inspiring my career trajectory from an early age. I have had the opportunity to volunteer and work with many diverse organizations and communities throughout my 25-year career. Currently, I am a Ph.D. candidate studying organizational leadership at Southeastern University. Additionally, I am the proprietor of Wild Spark Consulting, a consulting business dedicated to igniting and cultivating leadership. Furthermore, I am honored to serve as a Coexistence Fellow with the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. I am privileged to contribute my expertise as a Vermilion Sea Institute and Ecology Project International board member. I serve on the advisory council for A Rocha USA and Ecochallenge.org. My academic credentials consist of a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology and a Master of Arts in Biology obtained through the Global Field Program of Miami University. A few of my favorite things are growing in my faith, spending time with beautiful family, traveling the world, dancing to good music, and making new friends!
Emma oldham

Conservationist / Communications Manager, Connected Conservation Foundation

Madeleine

Communications officer, IUCN

Jack Cole

Project and Fundraising Coordinator, Restore Our Planet

Rebecca Jefferson

Founder and Director , Human Nature

I am a social scientist and passionate about increasing the application of social science research and methods in the conservation sector. To do this, I founded Human Nature. Human Nature is a social enterprise empowering conservation professionals to use social sciences to impact people and planet. We provide training and mentorship to NGOs, academics, policy makers and others wishing to build their foundations in social science. Many people working in conservation have trained through natural science routes, and find themselves needing to better understand the people elements of ecosystems. Social science provides the tools do this. Please get in touch if you are interested in hearing more about what we do.  You can contact me at https://humannature.co.uk/contact.
Nina Paige Hadley

Senior Director, Guardians, Re:wild

Kimberly Ray

Founder and CEO, Marine Conservation Network

I am a marine conservationist / biologist whose passion for the ocean has been since I was young. I have been involved in tagging and releasing  juvenile great whites and rescued stranded sea lions. Now, I am building a Young Ambassadors Program for individuals who are looking to create their own path for marine conservation. 
Fleur Morton

Master's Graduate, N/A

Brooke Tully

Behavior change marketer, Brooke Tully

I help conservationists around the world design outreach and communication plans that motivate action & change. My methodology brings together best practices from commercial advertising, relevant theories from the behavioral & social sciences, insights from global consumer trends, and real-world conservation experiences. Offering: online workshops, online courses, and consulting services.
Rezoana Arefine

Snake expert, Kundali Foundation

I am Arefine. I am an anchor & reciter. In between my studies in zoology, I am involved in extra curricular activities. I focus on field studies since my undergraduate studies. Field study alone and observing became my addiction. Photography was also added to this addiction. Although watching nature, observing animals is my passion, the thought of working on a specific subject did not come to my mind. After that, I started working at the marginal level with snakebite patients during the Corona period. Then I chose calligraphy as a means of awareness to reach people quickly. Although I did not give priority to online then, I later built my organization called Kundali Foundation. Under the banner of this organization, i started the work of conveying the message of awareness to people called 'Be Aware Of Snake'.   I was able to deliver my message to 495 upazilas of Bangladesh. The war is still going on because the fear of snakes has not died down among people.
Cidee Despi

Communications and Marketing Officer, CoalitionWILD

Chantelle

Conservation botanist, Plant Heroes

Karen Curiel

Partnership & Business Developer, Lemu Earth

Anne Sleeman

Founder and CEO, WatchSpotter Data Collection Research Hub

With experience in Marine Animal Rehab., Rescue and Research coupled with a nerdy love of data, data science and all things technology, my data collection software company, WatchSpotter is the cumulation of my life’s work. From the hallways of the Marine Animal Rehabilitation Center at the University of New England, my affinity for caring for marine animals was fostered and grew. Being tasked with the center’s life support systems and flow thru animal pools further opened my eyes to water quality, fecal coliforms, and bio-loads.  I was the primary research technician in a multiphase study: Protecting the Saco River: Tracking non-point fecal pollution to its species source. Upon leaving UNE, I traveled to the Southern Great Barrier Reef Australia to work on an international research team focusing on population dynamics for three cetacean species. Once back stateside, I sharpened my Software UX skills working as a software consultant for Centersoft Technologies. After a brief stint volunteering for the Dolphin Photo ID program at Florida Atlantic University Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, I was hired to join the team. I split time the first years at FAU HBOI between the Harmful Algal Bloom lab and the Dolphin Population and Assessment Lab. Settling in as a Research Assistant for the latter as well as a first responder for the Marine Mammal Rescue Team. In working with the Dolphin Population and Assessment Primary Researcher, along with other industry collaborators, I soon became the PIs data analyst and was paramount in the creation and development of the programs state of the art cloud-based SQL database platform. I worked as a liaison between the research program and software architects to assure ease of use, maximum data output and advanced analytics. The software is still used by the newly formed team today.  At the end of 2019 it was time for me to branch out on my own.  In the spring of 2022, WatchSpotter was born. My idea was to create a customizable SaaS application that could be used by researchers worldwide. Data is data- scientific questions need to be answered. My contingency was that no matter what the research topic- if the research brings people into the field-whether scientists, volunteers, or citizens, they are there to gather data-to answer questions. I knew that the two biggest challenges facing many environmental research groups were time and money. It would not be feasible for most nonprofits or other environmental institutions to pay for custom software- which often runs in excess of $150K nor do they have the time to wait for such programs to be complete.  These known challenges fueled the customization and simple UX that make up the WatchSpotter platform. When I’m working with Environmental Science or software, I enjoy being outside in the woods or at the beach, volunteering and hanging with family and friends.
Yihew Biru Woldegiorgis

Researcher, Gullele Botanic Garden

I am Yihew Biru a researcher working as wildlife ecologist at Gullele Botanic Garden Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. I do have a research and teaching experience in higher education systems and research institutions in Ethiopia. My research background is on feeding ecology and resource use overlap among different species of large mammals, human-wildlife conflict mitigations, biodiversity conservation challenges across Ethiopia and ethnozoology related topics. I am eager to acquire new concept and experiences from the team throughout the GWWC course and after.
Lisa Wheeler

Grants and Networks Officer, Whitley Fund for Nature

I lead on the Whitley Fund for Nature's Network Development programme, supporting and creating connections among the 200-strong global network to foster knowledge exchange and collaboration, and strengthen capacity. Previous to this role, I worked for Galapagos Conservation Trust for over seven years across project management and operations/finance. I hold an MSc in Conservation Science from Imperial College London. I am passionate about habitat restoration, the conservation of endemic species and inspiring the next generation of conservation leaders.
Elizabeth Stephenson

Director, Marine Conservation Action Fund, New England Aquarium

Thirza Loffeld

WildHub Community Manager, WildTeam UK

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.