I am a WildLearning Specialist at WildTeam with a PhD in Conservation Biology.
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.
I am a biologist and work as a mammals expert and project manager (interested more in large carnivores research and conservation, such as brown bear, wolf, and Balkan lynx) at PPNEA NGO, in Albania. I have experience in monitoring and researching endangered species such as the Balkan lynx. Since 2015, I am coordinating the Balkan Lynx Recovery Programme in Albania. Also, in 2021, I completed the MAVA Leaders for Nature Academy.
Have been involved in a variety of projects - Javan Silvery Gibbon, Tigers in India, and more recently water vole conservation in the UK. Currently run a landscape wide wetland restoration project in West Sussex on the south coast of the UK with water voles in mind but would love to just throw in a couple of European beavers and my job would be done!
Steve Unwin
Program Manager One Health Surveillance for the Indo-Pacific, Wildlife Health Australia
Steve joined Wildlife Health Australia in April 2022 as the Program Manager - One Health Surveillance and Wildlife Collaborating Centre for Australia and the Indo-Pacific. Steve graduated from Massey University in New Zealand in ecology and veterinary science. He has worked as a wildlife clinician in several zoos, wildlife rehabilitation centres and conservation projects in Australia, Thailand, Cameroon and UK, and academia in the UK. Steve is a European specialist in Zoo Health Management and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in the UK. He has coordinated international, multidisciplinary wildlife health networks in Africa and South-East Asia.
As a systems thinker in the One Health space, Steve aims to mitigate adverse environmental health impacts from human activity at the human-wildlife interface in the Indo-Pacific region through interdisciplinary research, capacity development and effective networked risk management. Steve’s research interests focus on wildlife infectious diseases, especially zoonoses, disease risk analysis and mental health of wildlife health practitioners.
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.
Katie Heffner
Senior Director, Partnerships and Engagement, Center for Behavior & the Environment, Rare
Victor Ayegba Mathew is a community development and environmental educator with more than 7 years of experience in promoting eco-friendly solutions and creating programs for environmental learning across schools in Nigeria.
He is the founder of Vikipedia (A regerative hub for young minds) and has supported and volunteered for countless organisations related to water, environment, and nature education. He encourages sustainable interaction with the environment through proper waste management demonstrations and activities that educate community members.
Victor has been actively involved with environmental firms in his country in both paid and volunteer roles. He volunteered as an assistant data collector for Greenfaith during the 2021 FaithsforClimate Justice, with EarthCharter as a course co-facilitator, and organized campus FaithsforClimate justice under Greenfaith. Victor also partnered with the Swarovski WaterSchool Project (EarthChild International) to promote WASH projects across schools in Nigeria. Currently, he teaches at Sahel Academy Kano state, Nigeria as an Environmental Educator and a fellow with the Foundation For Environmental Education GAIA Fellowship.
Victor has a degree in Environmental Science, and a Post Graduate diploma in disaster and risk management. He has completed a program with the University for Peace on Systems Thinking and Regenerative Leadership, and a Leadership, Sustainability, and Ethics course with EarthCharter. He was recently recognized as a Climate Champion with the Climate Leadership Fellowship (Climate Smart Nigeria) and the United Nations Sustainable Development Network (Nigeria). He's also one of the young persons trained and certified by former United States Vice President Al Gore as a Climate Reality Leader.
Driven by the desire for an environmental sustainability-conscious and eco-literate world with individuals and institutions as its frontrunners, Victor is always looking to boost his skills in project design and systems thinking, behavioral change processes, community and educational engagement, corporate social responsibility/investment, social leadership, and people management to amplify the work he’s already doing in the environmental space locally and globally.
Passionate about the intersection of animal health, human health, and environmental health. Interested in the use of technology to advance our understanding of zoonotic diseases, wildlife conservation, and the One Health approach
Wildlife biologist with cross-cutting interests in wildlife conservation technologies, wildlife and ecological research, climate change.
I work for Lancashire Wildlife Trust as a Communications and Engagement Trainee along the Kingfisher Trail in Bolton. I recently changed career from an Environmental Consultant in agriculture and thoroughly enjoying my first four months. I have project management experience from a consultancy role but never received formal training and love that this course is focussed on conservation projects.
I have an environmental and agri background and have worked in Africa, Australia and the UK. I am interested in the interconnectedness between wildlife conservation and agriculture and regenerative agriculture specifically.
Senior third sector manager with more than twenty years’ experience in international wildlife conservation, 15 of which in a management and leadership role. My focus has been on driving individual capacity development programmes (conservation leadership, facilitation etc.), institutional capacity building of NGOs, multi-stakeholder collaborations, conservation education and conservation programme development.
I am a trained communication professional with 12+ years of progressive experience in orchestrating strategic communication plans and designing programmes to promote sustainable development & pro-conservation behaviour amongst businesses, government employees, educators, and youth. My area of expertise includes marketing communications, content development, programme design, development and execution, and event management. I am interested in catalyzing change through the implementation of innovative projects and programmes that address socio-environmental challenges and are embedded in equity and justice.