Expo is where you can meet some of your favorite conservationists—and welcome some of the newest additions to our Network—and hear firsthand how your support helps them make lasting impacts for endangered wildlife. Learn more about our speakers below:
Felipe Alfonso-Cortes
Proyecto WashuFelipe Alfonso-Cortes
Felipe Alfonso-Cortes is a biologist who has been working in biodiversity conservation for a decade, mainly on endangered neotropical primates. He is co-founder and co-director of Proyecto Washu/Fundación Naturaleza y Arte in Ecuador, where they are developing a conservation strategy in one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, the Chocó-Darien-Western Ecuador. Felipe is the current president of the Ecuadorian Primates Specialist Group, a member of the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group, and the Latin-American Primatological Society. He’s also been a two-time finalist in the Future for Nature Award.
Dr. Abdullahi Ali
Hirola Conservation ProgramDr. Abdullahi Ali
Dr. Abdullahi Ali is an indigenous Kenyan conservationist born and raised in Garissa (home of the hirola). He works in the isolated and volatile regions of eastern Kenya and some parts of southwest Somalia that border Kenya. Despite being raised in a small village, Dr. Ali received his PhD in Ecology from the University of Wyoming where he also won the Outstanding Dissertation of the year award in 2016. In 2014, Dr. Ali founded the Hirola Conservation Program (HCP), a nonprofit organization dedicated to saving the critically endangered hirola antelope in eastern Kenya. Dr. Ali works with local Kenyans and Somalis to save this endangered species while also improving local livelihoods. Ali is a member of the IUCN/SSC Antelope Specialist Group and also works as a fellow for the Zoological Society of London’s EDGE of Existence (Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered) group.
Nathalia Fuentes
Proyecto WashuNathalia Fuentes
Nathalia Fuentes Is an Ecuadorian biologist who co-founded Proyecto Washu 10 years ago. As a co-director, she works for the conservation of Ecuadorian primates, especially the brown-headed spider monkey, through scientific research, community work, and environmental education. She is currently President of the Fundación Naturaleza y Arte and is part of the board of directors of the Ecuadorian Primates Specialist Group. Nathalia is also a member of the IUCN Primate Specialists’ Group and the Latin American Primatological Society. She wants to continue empowering local communities, creating opportunities for them through biodiversity conservation, and successfully rehabilitate and reintroduce illegally trafficked spider monkeys.
Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka
Conservation Through Public HealthDr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka
Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka is one of the leading conservationists working to save the critically endangered mountain gorillas of East Africa. She has studied at the University of London’s Royal Veterinary College and North Carolina State University, and is the Founder and CEO of Conservation Through Public Health. Between 1996 and 2000, she set up the first Veterinary Unit at the Uganda Wildlife Authority. She became an Ashoka Fellow in 2007 for merging Uganda’s wildlife management and rural public health programs, and completed an M.B.A. in Global Business and Sustainability in 2016. She is also on the leadership council for Women for the Environment in Africa.
Peter Lalampaa
Grevy's Zebra TrustPeter Lalampaa
Peter Lalampaa is from northern Kenya and joined Grevy’s Zebra Trust (GZT) in November 2007. He has a bachelor’s in Environmental Science from Kenyatta University and a MSc. in Conservation Biology from the University of Kent, UK. In 2012, he also completed the Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders course. As GZT’s Rangelands Manager, his work requires a lot of flexibility to handle fluctuating field conditions. Peter is a natural diplomat, and with his training in Conservation Conflict Transformation, he is highly skilled in positively engaging local communities and resolving conflict issues. In August 2013, Peter was recognized as a Disney Conservation Hero for his outstanding contributions to Grevy’s zebra conservation. In September 2019, Peter was certified as a Holistic Land and Livestock Management communal trainer.
Alex More
Spectacled Bear ConservationAlex More
Alex joined Spectacled Bear Conservation (SBC) in February 2020. He leads the design and implementation of SBC’s landscape conservation and management work to protect spectacled bear habitat in the dry forest. He has a long-term commitment to protecting threatened ecosystems in northern Peru, where he has led research and conservation programs since 2002. He collaborates with communities and authorities, creating and managing community reserves and protected areas in large portions of Peru. Alex was born in southern Peru, studied Biology at Universidad Nacional de Piura, and is completing a master’s at Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina.
Dr. Louisa Ponnampalam
MareCetDr. Louisa Ponnampalam
Dr. Louisa Ponnampalam is the Executive Director and Co-founder of The MareCet Research Organization. One of her main goals is to raise the profile of marine mammals in Malaysia, and to build and inspire local research and conservation capacity for these animals and their fragile marine environment. She also trains and mentors young conservationists in Malaysia to follow in her footsteps. In 2014, Louisa was awarded the Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation, the first Malaysian to ever receive this prestigious international award, as well as the National Youth Premier Award from the Malaysian government. She is also a member of the IUCN Species Survival Commission’s Cetacean and Sirenia Specialist Groups, and the International Whaling Commission’s Bycatch Expert Panel.
Neal Sharma
California Wildlife ProgramNeal Sharma
Neal joined WCN in July 2021 as Senior Manager of the California Wildlife Program. His work focuses on connectivity conservation, incorporating experience with protected areas planning and implementation, habitat restoration, land management, and linear infrastructure. Prior to his work with WCN, he was with Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST), where he focused on the organization’s efforts to establish a protected network of resilient ecosystems that enable wildlife to persist and adapt in a rapidly changing landscape and climate. He holds a master’s degree in landscape architecture from Cal Poly Pomona, with a focus in landscape ecology and regional planning, and a BA in social ecology from UC Irvine.
Dr. Anna Songhurst
Ecoexist TrustDr. Anna Songhurst
Anna Songhurst is a conservation biologist, specializing in elephants and finding ways to reduce human-elephant conflict. She studied Zoology at Trinity College Dublin and moved to Botswana in 2003, spending the last 20 years gaining field experience and conducting her Ph.D. on “Competition between People and Elephants in the Okavango Panhandle” at Imperial College London. In 2013, Anna co-founded and continues to direct the NGO Ecoexist Trust, which aims to reduce conflict and foster coexistence between humans and elephants. Ecoexist Trust has partnered with the Elephant Crisis Fund for the past five years to promote a landscape approach to addressing human-elephant conflict. Anna is an active member of the IUCN African Elephant Specialist Group and the IUCN Human Wildlife Conflict and Coexistence Specialist Group. She has also facilitated the establishment of national and regional working groups to bring stakeholders together to address elephant conservation and human-wildlife conflict issues.
Dr. Aristide Takoukam Kamla
African Marine Mammal Conservation OrganizationDr. Aristide Takoukam Kamla
Aristide Takoukam Kamla is the founder and leader of the African Marine Mammal Conservation Organization (AMMCO). As a marine biologist and a National Geographic Explorer, Aristide studied Animal Biology and Marine Wildlife Ecology and Management at Cameroon’s University of Dschang, and earned his Ph.D. in Veterinary Medical Science from the University of Florida. His research on African manatee genetics, diet, and habitat quality help AMMCO conserve this species, as well as other large marine mammals and sea turtles in Cameroon. He also created a mobile citizen science application called SIREN to address knowledge gaps for aquatic wildlife and facilitate the collection and sharing of data about sharks, rays, and other marine species from fishermen across Cameroon.
Dr. Chris Thouless
Elephant Crisis FundDr. Chris Thouless
Dr. Chris Thouless is Director of the Elephant Crisis Fund and Director of Research at Save the Elephants. He has spent more than 30 years working with elephants around Africa and Asia, particularly on movements and distribution, human-elephant conflict, and park management. He was Chairman of the CITES Panel of Experts on the African Elephant in 1996 and lead author of the 2016 African Elephant Status Report. Chris holds a master’s in Zoology from the University of Oxford, and a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge. He was also awarded the Queen’s Gallantry Medal in 1991 for saving a colleague from an angry elephant.
Virly Yuriken
Misool FoundationVirly Yuriken
Virly Yuriken is the Chairperson of Misool Foundation, helping lead and manage a 300,000-acre marine reserve and an extensive network of recycling hubs. As Chairperson, Virly works side by side with communities, governments, donors, and her team to protect the world’s richest reef in Misool, Raja Ampat. She has helped increase Missol Foundation’s plastic collection capacity and led a lobbying campaign for new legislation to ban single-use plastic in Raja Ampat and Sorong City. She was awarded a Youth South East Asian Leader Initiative (YSEALI) Professional Fellowship in Sustainable Development and the Environment and holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Universitas Sanata Dharma, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
In addition to the speakers, you’ll have the opportunity to meet other conservationists at the event.
African Marine Mammal Conservation Organization – Morgane Nigon
Andean Cat Alliance – Dr. Rocio Palacios
Grevy’s Zebra Trust – David Kimiti
Hirola Conservation Program – Nishad Patel
Macaw Recovery Network – Dr. Sam Williams, José Antonio Díaz Luque
Proyecto Tití – Rosamira Guillen
Small Wild Cat Conservation Foundation – Jim Sanderson
Snow Leopard Conservancy – Ashleigh Lutz-Nelson, Maria Azhunova
Spectacled Bear Conservation – Robyn Appleton