Hello! I'm Rebecca, and I am currently at PhD Researcher at Teesside University, and Course Leader for Higher Education at East Durham College. I decided to join MSc Primate Conservation after being inspired during my BSc in Animal Conservation Science. I found a book called "Gorillas in the Mist" and I had a lightbulb moment - primates! I had found my niche. This was confirmed later when I travelled to The Gambia to census the critically endangered Procolobus badius temmincki, during my thesis studying the Callithrix jacchus, and travelling to India to work in a rehabilitation centre for grey langurs and macaques.  I absolutely loved the MSc. It broadened my knowledge, increased my opportunities and really kickstarted my professional career. The lecturers are some of the best the field and it was a privilege to be brushing shoulders with such hard-working academics on a daily basis. I conducted my MSc thesis research at Blackpool Zoo, focusing on Gorilla gorilla gorilla social relationships and enclosure use. The chance to work with this charismatic species was a dream come true! The research has helped the zoo redevelop their gorilla enclosure, using my data to make informed decisions. I am also very happy to be part of a fledgeling, yet crucial organisation: Mountain Marmosets Conservation Program. As part of the Core Operation and Development Team, I am responsible for applying for grants, coordinating a team of students to develop a workshop planning meeting, and researching anything and everything about marmosets! This wonderful program is aiming to help develop an Action Plan to help save the endangered marmoset species' Callithrix aurita and Callithrix flaviceps. I hope to become even more involved with the program as we progress.

I'm a biodiversity consultant working mainly in the corporate space. I work with large companies to help them figure out their nature-related impacts, dependancies, risks and opportunities, then use this information to create biodiversity strategies. 

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. 

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.

By profession I am an chemical engineer, who always find himself asking the most important questions why I am here? What is the purpose of life? Yes! I love to about physics and philosophy. I belong to a village situated on the outskirts of Karachi comprising of fisher people and vast mangrove forests. Not many fisher people of Pakistan are able to jump out from the circle of illiteracy, however few us did graduate and now were are working so that every fisher gets a chance to fly their graduation hat in the air. My father is a social worker so volunteering my time for social issues and activism is in my spleens. I advocate for the protection of biological walls the mangrove forests by various means. We organize Mangroves Safaris for people to sea the mangrove forests in person. Experience how this amazing ecosystem is at work. We get the youth involved and design social action projects with them.