sue dawson

Urban Green Project Officer, Dorset Wildlife Trust
Ida Hansen

Project Coordinator, ERP

I work for a South African-based NGO. The overall goal is to conserve and protect elephants and rhinos through poverty alleviation. I started as an elephant monitor primarily focused on observing and recording behaviour, human-elephant conflict mitigation, and training/educating. From there, I have become project coordinator. However, there has recently been a change in management and a shift in focus, which means I will need to focus on areas I am not familiar with - project management being one of them.
Alan J. Hesse

Freelance Conservationist, author-illustrator, environmental and climate education entrepreneur, Captain Polo Academy

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. 

Lea Kaplani

WildLearning Specialist, WildTeam

Hello! I'm Léa and I'm a WildLearning Specialist with WildTeam. I help deliver a number of workshops with WildTeam, including the Grant Writing for WildLife Conservation workshops. I love getting to know all the workshop participants and learning from them :)

Previously, I was working with BirdLife International on an EC-funded project on Involving More Stakeholders in Forest Governance in Asia and the Pacific. I got to work with wonderful organisations such as the Haribon Foundation in the Philippines, Burung in Indonesia, Malaysian Nature Society as well as Tenkile Conservation Alliance and the University of Papua New Guinea. Education-wise, I have studied economic development, international relations as well as tropical forestry in the past.

Connect with me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/léa-k130

Adam Barlow

Executive Director, WildTeam UK

I help run a UK charity that builds the capacity of conservationists to plan, implement, monitor, and report on their work. I also have a fair bit of experience in tiger and sea turtle conservation.
Matthew Creasey

WildLearning and Communications Specialist, WildTeam

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.

Beth Robinson

WildLearning Specialist, WildTeam

I'm a WildLearning Specialist with WildTeam, a bit of an odd job title. My main role is to design, deliver and organise both our online and class-based training courses. One of the best parts of my job is meeting other conservationists and learning about the work that they do. Before working for WildTeam I did a PhD in invasive plants and human-wildlife interactions. I find it really interesting to learn about the ways people interact with nature, both when nature is being wonderful, but also when it is being a bit annoying!

Rebecca Jefferson

Founder and Director , Human Nature

I am a social scientist and passionate about increasing the application of social science research and methods in the conservation sector. To do this, I founded Human Nature. Human Nature is a social enterprise empowering conservation professionals to use social sciences to impact people and planet. We provide training and mentorship to NGOs, academics, policy makers and others wishing to build their foundations in social science. Many people working in conservation have trained through natural science routes, and find themselves needing to better understand the people elements of ecosystems. Social science provides the tools do this. Please get in touch if you are interested in hearing more about what we do.  You can contact me at https://humannature.co.uk/contact.

Gale Glendewar

Conservation Knowledge Officer, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust

Louisa Richmond-Coggan

Dean, African Leadership University, School of Wildlife Conservation

I have nineteen years of international experience in the field of conservation both in situ and ex-situ. From an early age, I have been passionate and intrigued by the natural world. My love of African wildlife and the continent they live in has shaped the person I am today and in turn the direction my professional career has taken. From my first visit to Tanzania to my current work in Namibia, I have come to understand the multifaceted relationship between wildlife and people. It cannot be denied that people are the root cause of a species decline but they are also the key to a species survival as well; this is my focus. Every one of my projects has grown my understanding of this relationship. I do this by taking the time to sit and talk to the people who are impacted by wildlife to generate real-world solutions. As a conservation scientist, I believe we should always be asking the key question ‘How can people and wildlife coexist?’ In 2016, I realised that to establish practices which affect real conservation results in time frames that address challenges before they become irretrievable, conservationists need to be more innovative, flexible and collaborative in their approach than we have traditionally been. My solution to this was to become an independent ecological consultant, able to work where and when I was required and, crucially, with all stakeholders and not just the ones my views were aligned with and in 2017 I started LRC Wildlife Conservation. In November 2020 I became the Dean for the School of Wildlife Conservation at the African Leadership University based in Kigali, Rwanda. As Dean, I am responsible for designing and implementing the School’s academic curriculum for undergraduate, MBA, and professional development programmes. Strengthening the faculty team and providing academic leadership for the School’s growing student body. The ALU School of Wildlife Conservation is an initiative of the African Leadership Group established to catalyse innovation and growth in Africa’s conservation sector. This is because we recognise Wildlife Conservation as one of Africa’s great opportunities and competitive advantages. We see the sector’s potential to drive sustainable ecological and economic development on the continent.
Merlyn Nomusa Nkomo

Student , Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology