Hi, I‘m Sabrina, I love the outdoors, laughter, journeys, and connecting with others, including other animals! How are you (but then really) & can you please tell me a story, are two of my favourite questions. Stories of call kinds can inspire, bring us joy, connection, and help us heal. Stories and ACTs can affect change. One of my favourite quotes is along the lines of ‘What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say’ by Ralph Waldo Emerson. It connects deeply to my ideas around flourishing for all. For peoples, other animals, the greater community of life, and this beautiful planet we share. To listen, learn, share, and act from a culture of respect and care. I look forward to connecting with you.
Sabrina Brando is the director of AnimalConcepts, including INTERBEING, an online platform uniting people and organisations on 6 continents, combining animal, people, and planetary wellbeing. Sabrina is a Certified Compassion Fatigue Professional and an Optimize Eudaimonia Coach, and has an MSc in Animal Studies. Now in her final PhD year at the University of Stirling in Scotland she focusses on human wellbeing at an individual, team, leadership, and organisational level in animal wellbeing and conservation professionals. Sabrina is a graduate of the Inner MBA class for which she completed a project on creating a culture of care in the workplace.
Sabrina teaches at universities and works with zoos, aquariums, sanctuaries, and other facilities worldwide. She is a frequent keynote speaker and has organised over 500 events through AnimalConcepts since 2004. Sabrina has published popular and academic articles, and works with governments, writing policies and guidelines. She is the author of a book on ‘Optimal Welfare of Ageing Wild Animals in Human Care’ by Springer Nature. She is working on a forthcoming book by Taylor & Francis on wellbeing in animal care professionals and wildlife conservationists, informed by her 37+ years in the field and PhD research, together with the external AnimalConcepts team a book by Routledge on Animal Behaviour Training and Ethics for Animal Wellbeing Education Research and Conservation, and a book close to her heart with all the things she wishes she knew when starting in the field of animals and conservation, with the provisional title of Wild about self-care.
In 2018, Sabrina became a Chief Storyteller. She loves storytelling and writing - particularly about animals, the human-animal connection, and the natural world. She often wears a button with “I love stories” on it. This button sparks many great conversations and storytelling about animals, among many other topics, from people she meets at conferences to strangers on a plane. If you have a story you want to share about the animal(s) you care(d) for, a special friendship you have with your favourite animal, a great action for animals, peoples, or the planet you were involved in, or anything else that makes your heart sing, Sabrina would love to hear from you!
Flavia Manieri
WildHub Community Advocates Coordinator|Interdisciplinary Researcher, Uppsala University
Since July 2025, I have been serving as the Community Advocates Coordinator at WildHub, where I coordinate initiatives to engage, support, and empower our community advocates in advancing WH’s mission.
Beyond WildHub, I wear a few different hats. I work as a researcher and lecturer in Sweden, teaching courses on environmental law, political and historical ecology, and disaster risk management. I also mentor undergraduate and postgraduate students, collaborate with faculty members, and contribute to ongoing research projects.
I’m passionate about giving back through volunteer work. I support a few conservation and animal welfare organisations with research and advocacy to help drive positive change. When I’m not working, you’ll find me hiking forest trails with my dog or enjoying a good cup of coffee.
I am a multihyphenate working across environmental conservation and equity spaces, serving clients with program and project design and assessment, policy advocacy, strategy, communications, and thought partnership. My firm primarily serves nonprofit and government entities, with select partnerships with mission-based for-profit companies. I bring my expertise in law, anthropology, policy, communications, and wellness to the work advancing equitable conservation.
I am also a passionate and avid SCUBA diver, coral restoration volunteer, and fundraiser aiming to advance equity in ocean conservation through local, hands-on, in-the-water work. I serve on the Advisory Board for 10% For the Ocean and volunteer regularly with the Cozumel Coral Reef Restoration Program.
For more information, please visit www.silleckconsultingservices.com.
MSc Ecology and BSc Zoology Graduate from the University of Exeter. Special interest in wild animal behaviour, the use of AI in recognition, and wildlife education and science communication. Starting a PhD in animal stress in September. Head of Editorial at Viridis Magazine.
Ana Yi Soto is a specialist in communications and cooperation for development. Her 12-year professional experience spans the non-profit and private sectors, including NGOs such as Conservation International and Wildlife Conservation Society. She is knowledgeable in rural development, conservation programs, and youth movements across Latin America, Africa, and Europe.
In 2007, she co-founded the International Network of Students for Peace, RED ESPAZ Peru, and on Earth Day 2023, she launched Crea Planeta, a creative agency for planet restoration based in social marketing and behavioral insights. Ana is a Peruvian national and lives in Madagascar, close to the Makira National Park.
As Head of Communications at Whitley Fund for Nature, I am responsible for leading the organisation’s communications strategy, using the charity’s platform to spread awareness about Whitley Award winners across WFN’s website and social media. I lead on campaigns, and support across the charity’s PR and events to raise the profile of Whitley Award winners. I'm also a Trustee of Born Free Foundation, and I founded The Wildlife Blogger Crowd in 2020; a virtual network of over 250 bloggers, social media influencers, podcasters, and filmmakers. In 2021, I published a book of our collective works, ‘Connections With Nature’.
Ecologist with extensive terrestrial practical survey, training and education, consultancy and advisory experience. Extensive wildlife conservation research and land management project experience as well as in working in forestry, agriculture and natural resource management, climate change resilience and disaster recovery. I've also lectured on field survey techniques, environmental impact assessments and flood and fire risk management and am also working on climate change impacts and mitigation. Open to short term consultancy projects.
Here are the 3 things I am all about: 1. Nature From day one my favorite place to be and my north star in every life decision I make. I want to protect and rewild as much nature as I possibly can. In order to do so I created 2 businesses: Wildya - my attempt to give personal development a wild update Wild Business Mates - my consulting service to empower wild change makers 2. Personal Development I am life long learner and believe that we can live happier if we take matters into our own hands. Daily tiny actions accumulate. So with Wildya, I can support you to take action and change your life. 3. Ecopreneurship The world needs to change. The most successful companies & NGOs of tomorrow generate positive impact at scale. If you attempting to do this, let me help you. I am building Wildya transparently, to provide a clear blueprint on how to take an idea from 0 to a sustainable business / NGO. Creating a community of wild change-makers, as well as consulting them along the way.
Arvind Kumar Chaurasia
Additional Commissioner, IRS(C&IT), Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC)
I am Additional Commissioner from Indian Revenue Service (Customs & Indirect Taxes) with vast experience of law enforcement especially in tackling transnational smuggling including willdife trafficking. Also, as an expert I have been conducting sessions on various aspects of wildlife crimes and its convergence with other serious crimes, legal and enforcement framework to counter it, wildlife cyber crime, OSINT for combating wildlife crime, combating money laundering associated with wildlife crime, CITES, role of Customs in tackling the menace of wildlife crime, Digital Forensics etc. for forest, police, customs and other enforcement agencies' officials. I have also been invited as an expert by UNODC ROSA to train the law enforcement officials of Sri Lanka on combating wildlife cyber crimes.
I am a WildLearning Specialist at WildTeam with a PhD in Conservation Biology.
I'm Liane, and I am a WildLearning Specialist at WildTeam! I'm looking forward to getting to know you all!
For the last few years, I've been working in Seychelles, focusing on island and marine conservation efforts, particularly coral restoration and turtle nesting monitoring. If you ask me questions about coral, be prepared for me to get very nerdy about it! Prior to that, I was managing a project in Northern Thailand, where I worked closely with a local community to set up ethical elephant experiences in their village.
In my free time, I love running and hiking, and being anywhere in nature. I have also learnt to freedive in the last few years and enjoy doing that when possible. I'm really interested in talking to different people and learning from them and their unique experiences.
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.
My name is Adekanle Godslove and I am based in Nigeria I work for Centre for Ecological and Community Development as a project officer and I have been opportune to work with several organization like IFAD and Federal ministry of environment here in Nigeria as an eco analyst. I am passionate about nature conservation and I involve adequately in environmental advocacy.
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.
Ghyslain Mabaya
Ingénieur agronome, spécialiste en gestion des ressources naturelles , Indépendant
I work for Conservation Nation we are a new non-profit that relaunched in late 2021 after a long, prior history of being Friends of the National Zoo in Washington, DC.
I head up the marketing and communications along with running the grants program. Our focus is helping to make the conservation field accessible to a broader group of people and amplify those voices through our grants, education and outreach programs. My background is in program management, marketing and communications but my passion has always been in conservation and I've had the opportunity to volunteer for several conservation organizations. My two parallel paths have intersected with my role at Conservation Nation.
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.