Conservation Technology Specialist, ICT, Cyber Security , Data, MEAL and Information Management professional @Wildlife Conservation Society | MBA in Global Entrepreneurship

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!

Wildlife biologist 🐘 Mentor 👩‍🎓 Your Biggest Career Cheerleader 📣 Communicator 👥 | Showing animal lovers how to get their dream job✨ | Connecting people with nature for conservation 🌿 and community 🏙️

Naturalist, traveler, French-Polish herpetologist, interested in biodiversity and the conservation of herpetofauna. I have always been passionate about observing and studying amphibians and reptiles, especially different species of lizards in many countries. This has allowed me to gain experience in scientific research by collaborating with other specialists, attending numerous conferences and writing papers on herpetofauna. I participate in numerous monitoring and conservation programmes. Member of the IUCN SSC Monitor Lizard Specialist Group. Addicted to Natural History. Education and the sharing of knowledge is the key to progress and understanding. "Learning from the past to understand the present and prepare the future."

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.

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 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 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.

For unintentionally setting free a non-venomous injured wolf snake from my room, my college mates call me Snake-man because by doing so, they assumed I endangered their lives. You can find me with wild animals in the mountains, valleys, or plains because our addresses are somehow the same. Outside my job, I do herping and anyone who wants information on this group of animals besides other biodiversity, climate, and social science can contact me any time. Rest, I follow Allan Rufus’ dictum “Life is like a sandwich, birth as one slice and death as the other. What you put in between the slices is up to you. Is your sandwich tasty or sour?” So, it is me who makes my sandwich! Education-wise, I have a PhD Ecosystem Management (University of New England, Armidale, Australia), MSc Biodiversity, Wildlife, and Ecosystem Health (Edinburgh University, Scotland, UK), PG Diploma (Hons), Wildlife Management (Wildlife Institute of India), BSc Forestry (Royal University of Bhutan), and High Standard Professional Certificate (Forest Rangers' Course), Northeast Forest Rangers' College, Jalukbari, Assam (now Central Academy for State Forest Service, Burnihat, Assam, India). All my life, I studied Nature Conservation and related Ecological and Environmental Sciences and live to see how rapidly they change. I can do many things many people can do! I have been recently immortalized by a team of taxonomists from the British Museum as they named a torrent frog (Amolops wangyali) from eastern Bhutan after me based on the work I have done on Bhutan amphibians. Thus, frogs in military jackets around Trashigang may carry my name as their specific species epithet. But more than rejoicing, I feel stressed because I feel I should do more in this area and I don't have much time. So, you know...!

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. 

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.

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.