A Florida native and University of West Florida alum, she has pursued advanced studies in Tropical Forest Landscapes Conservation and Restoration at Yale University. She has expanded her knowledge in Science Communication and Sustainable Development Goals through Erasmus University Rotterdam. Additionally, she has gained expertise in Large Marine Ecosystems' Assessment and Management from Cape Town University.
In addition to her role as an ecopreneur, she actively engages in volunteer work with environmental and conservation organizations, as well as outreach groups, using her professional skills to contribute meaningfully to the assistance of others.
I want to find new ways to have a positive impact on the environment and communities around the world. How I do this is pretty open; I have wide-ranging interests (including the arts and spending time outside) and am willing to adapt to changing circumstances.
Although I've stepped back from being a community advocate for the WildHub community, I'm still happy to answer questions about the platform and will do what I can to help connect people.
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.
I also run the conservation workshop and networking platform '& another thing'. See details of our free upcoming workshops and events here - https://andanotherplace.wixsite.com/home
José Luiz Esteves works professionally through EXPONENTIALIS
Learning and Education Projects and INTELIBUSINESS, a Social
Responsibility and Corporate Sustainability Consulting venture, created in Belo Horizonte in 2006. He has relevant experience in different Triple Helix organizations in Brazil, in management positions. Professional with knowledge of the business environment, social
responsibility / third sector, and education in Brazil and Latin America,
especially in the aspects of institutional management, market intelligence, network development, has a degree in social communication and public administration. He obtained his specialization, masters, and a doctorate in these areas, and the international diploma GUDS / Urban Management and
Sustainable Development (by the World Bank / UN-ECLAC / MINURVI /
Italian Coop) In 2001. Has a solid background in Social Program
Management, Strategic Planning, BSC, Participatory Appraisal, Project
Logical Framework, Resource Mobilization, and Fundraising (by The Resource Alliance) held in Brazil and abroad.
Katie Heffner
Senior Director, Partnerships and Engagement, Center for Behavior & the Environment, Rare
Shelley acts as community manager for the two growing networks that sit alongside the core Cambridge Masters in Conservation Leadership teaching programme; the University of Cambridge Conservation Leadership Alumni Network (UCCLAN) and the Conservation Leadership Transformation Network. The management of these two networks delivers two of the three goals set out in the Masters in Conservation Leaderships ten-year strategy; to catalyse the impact of the UCCLAN; and to establish a Global Conservation Leadership Community of Practice.
Shelley is a former archaeologist, who moved into the communications sector and has been specialising in external affairs and communications at the University of Cambridge for the last 15 years. Shelley is a brand specialist with extensive experience in delivering large-scale communications campaigns for the University’s high-profile events such as the Cambridge Science Festival, alongside training staff and students from across the University in to how to engage audiences both in person and online.
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 started working with captive rescued monkeys in 1999 and went on to earn an MSc in Primate Conservation (Oxford Brookes University) and another in International Animal Welfare Ethics and Law (University of Edinburgh). I've worked for a number of animal welfare organizations, most recently the Animals Asia Foundation and the Asia for Animals Coalition. I've been trustee and director for Neotropical Primate Conservation since its establishment as a UK charity in 2007. I'm particularly interested in the way human and non-human primates relate to one another, and the intersection between conservation and animal welfare. I feel that it's important that these are treated as complimentary, rather than contradictory, concepts. At present I am exploring primate welfare in the context of human-macaque conflict mitigation strategies. Please feel free to contact me here to talk about this if it's of interest to you! I am originally from the US but have lived in the UK for many years.
I am passionate about primates, felids and large mammals, conservation education and outreach.
I started my conservation career as a researcher/author for the Arkive online natural world encyclopedia, before managing the Wildscreen Exchange project which gives 350+ organisations across the world access to free photographs and videos for their communications. From working on this project, I developed a keen interest in conservation communications and began researching impact and technique.
I also ran the public section of the Wildscreen Festival, Witness the Wild, which is an event programme that includes a travelling bicycle-powered wildlife film cinema, the world's largest recycled and recyclable photography exhibition, and a nature-themed street art gallery. Since then, I have been running my own conservation communications business, Song and Dance Communications, but split my time 50/50 between this and field work, which mostly centres around ecosystem restoration and short-term contracts in the ecotourism industry. I also produce a seldom updated blog, which I hope to spend more time on at some point in the not-too-distant future!
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.
I am a marine biology graduate with an MSc in conservation from Plymouth Uni. I use to be the assistant community manager of WildHub and. have a passion for science communication and bringing people together. 🦇 In my spare time I have a blog as well as a Redbubble shop where I sell my artwork. Check it out under my website link :) 🦇 Other interests include the use of technology (specifically cameras) to study animals as well as animal husbandry and advocacy.
Fátima D. Gigante
Program Coordinator / Coordinator, CoalitionWILD / Women in Nature Network (WiNN)
Interdisciplinary conservation professional. Consultant at the European Forest Institute and coordinator for CoalitionWILD 2022 Global Mentorship Programme. Passionate about the social dimensions of natural resource management, community-based conservation, participatory methodologies and human-wildlife conflicts.
Alan J. Hesse
Senior Behaviour Change Specialist (TRAFFIC); also independent author-illustrator and climate educator.., TRAFFIC International
My conservation career started in 1992 when I helped set up and joined a University expedition to the Bolivian Amazon. What started out as a 3-month experience ended up being a life-changing inflection point that set my professional and personal course to the present day. My conservation experience was built bottom-up and hands-on, and includes field data collection and logistics, grassroots organization leadership and project management, community engagement and capacity building, M&E, training and behavior change, and lately climate education through authorship of graphic novels and other resources. My conservation career includes positions as a senior staff member and a principal investigator at the Bolivian BirdLife Partner Armonía, field investigator in the Gran Chaco with WCS Bolivia, field logistics officer for Conservation International's RAP expeditions, and Programme Manager and Senior Manager of M&E at Rare. I currently work as Senior Behaviour Change Specialist with TRAFFIC International, applying behavioural science approaches to support TRAFFIC's work across wildlife supply chains globally.
I work for WildTeam UK, helping to deliver training workshops, write conservation best practice manuals and share them as widely as possible. Previously a Writing Fellow working with various conservation organisations across India. Background in research, particularly behavioural ecology. Bird nerd.
Where is restoration taking place around the world, and how is it being tracked? This is an important question that should put ecosystem monitoring at the forefront to achieve both quantitative and qualitative goals. That's where my work comes in—launching data-driven solutions for monitoring, reporting, and guiding investment. Because both people and the planet matter.