Our Staff

Save the Elephants is proud of the wide diversity of talents that have come together to fight for a future for elephants under our banner. From the founding of the organisation more than twenty years ago it has always combined world-leading scientific minds with the unrivalled experience and deep, intuitive knowledge of African cultures that have long co-existed with elephants. STE’s founder, Iain Douglas-Hamilton, conducted the first behavioural studies of wild African elephants. Since setting up a long term study of the elephants of Samburu in northern Kenya, he has nurtured a new generation of researchers and conservationists from the local area and around the world, all of whom share the same passion and commitment to making sure that elephants continue to grace African landscapes.

Dr. Iain Douglas-Hamilton, CBE

Dr. Iain Douglas-Hamilton, CBE

Founder & Senior Scientist

One of the world’s foremost authorities on the African elephant, Dr Douglas-Hamilton pioneered the first in-depth scientific study of elephant social behaviour in Tanzania’s Lake Manyara National Park at age 23. He received a DPhil in zoology from the University of Oxford. During the 1970s he investigated the status of elephants throughout Africa and was the first to alert the world to the ivory poaching holocaust. He chronicled how Africa’s elephant population was halved between 1979 and 1989 and helped bring about the world ivory trade ban. Iain and his wife Oria have co-authored two award-winning books, “Among the Elephants” and “Battle for the Elephants” and have made numerous television films. He founded Save the Elephants in 1993 at the suggestion of Felix Appelbe in order to create an effective and flexible NGO dedicated specifically to elephants. He serves on the data review task force of the African Elephant Specialist Group of IUCN, and the Technical Advisory Group for MIKE. He also conducts regular lecture tours and works with the media to promote STE’s mission and awareness of elephants in general. Over the last few years Iain has spoken at numerous conferences including the Wildlife Conservation Network, and the 7th World Wilderness Congress. In 2012, Dr. Douglas-Hamilton spoke before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Ivory and Insecurity: The Global Implications of Poaching in Africa. In 2013, Iain’s high level meeting at the White House was followed by both the Obama Executive Order, and the Clinton Global Initiative Commitment to action to Stop the Killing, Stop the Trafficking and Stop the Demand for ivory. Additionally, Iain has spoken at Universities, Zoological Societies, Embassies and private fundraising functions throughout Europe and America. His chief research interest is to understand elephant choices by studying their movements. For his work on elephants he was awarded one of conservation’s highest awards the Order of the Golden Ark in 1988 and the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2015. Dr Iain Douglas-Hamilton was named the recipient of the 2010 Indianapolis Prize, one of the world’s leading awards for animal conservation. In recognition for his lifetime achievements, he received the Lilly Medal at a gala ceremony presented by Cummins Inc., at The Westin Hotel in Indianapolis.

Frank Pope

Frank Pope

Chief Executive Officer

Frank Pope is CEO of Save The Elephants. He joined Save The Elephants as COO in 2012 at the height of the poaching crisis. An experienced bush pilot, Pope is at the helm of an organisation renowned for using the power of science to secure a future for elephants. A passionate communicator, after many years in marine science and conservation Pope became the world’s first Ocean Correspondent, at The Times newspaper in London. During this time he published two acclaimed books and fronted the BBC series Britain’s Secret Seas. Pope is now working with Save the Elephants’ world-leading team of scientists and conservationists to reveal the intricate and complex world of elephants and to forge innovative solutions to their protection.

Wainaina Kimani

Wainaina Kimani

Chief Operations Officer

Wainaina Kimani is the longest serving member of Save The Elephants being with the organisation since its inception. He has held many roles including Chief Finance Officer. In 2017, he took over from Frank Pope as the new Chief Operations Officer.

Dr. Chris Thouless, QGM

Dr. Chris Thouless, QGM

Director of Research & The Elephant Crisis Fund

Dr. Chris Thouless has nearly 30 years of experience working for governments, NGOs and private sector in Africa and Asia. He is a specialist in wildlife conservation, community-based natural resource management, project management, protected area planning and management, public private partnerships and tourism development. He has a particular interest in elephant conservation, having worked on elephant movement patterns, human wildlife conflict and elephant surveys in several countries. He was Chairman of CITES Panel of Experts on the African Elephant in 1996 and has been a member of the IUCN Species Survival Commission since 1986. He was lead author of the African Elephant Status Report (2016). Chris has held a number of senior positions, including coordinator of the reconstruction of the Nairobi National Museum, director of Millenium Challenge Corporation investments in community conservation in Namibia, senior wildlife biologist for the Kalahari in Botswana, chief advisor on sustainable tourism to the government of Namibia and deputy director of the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, a leading private sector conservation organisation in Kenya. Chris holds an MA in zoology from the University of Oxford, and a PhD from the University of Cambridge. He was awarded the Queen’s Gallantry Medal in 1991.

Dr. Festus Ihwagi

Dr. Festus Ihwagi

Research Scientist - Spatial Ecology

Festus joined Save the Elephants research team in 2005 with a special interest in elephant habitat interactions. He studied the impacts of elephants on the woody plant community along the Ewaso River and observed selective utilization of their bark by elephants. He then joined the team with skills in GIS which opened up a dual role as a GIS analyst.He is also involved in the participatory Monitoring of Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) program where he team leads the harmonization of mortality records. His interests lie in understanding the drivers, spatial and temporal dynamics of poaching across the African elephant range; the subject of his doctoral thesis at the University of Twente, Netherlands. His full profile and publications can be seen here.

Lesley Nalwa

Lesley Nalwa

PA to Founder, and CEO. Head of Administration & HR

Lesley is the Administrative Assistant to the Founder & President. She is responsible for organizing and updating the   Founder & President’s diary and schedule on a daily basis and the organization of all activities, events, meetings and communications on the Founder & President’s behalf. She is also responsible for organizing all international fund-raising trips and events for theFounder & President, ensuring all travel requirements are booked and planned well in advance. Lesley’s management skills include 10 years of business management experience. In addition she has experience in human resource and her expertise includes employee relations management, recruitment, hiring, policies and organizational development.

Njoki Kibanya

Njoki Kibanya

Office Manager & Online Collaborator

Njoki is one of the longest serving members of STE and is Office Administrator based at the STE Nairobi office. She holds an Upper Diploma in Office Management and Secretarial Services and over twenty years working experience. She’s in charge of maintaining the office’s communication and internet systems, offering support, supply or otherwise to the field staff and researchers, control of the office Petty Cash, purchase of all office supplies and maintaining inventories among many ad hoc office tasks that ensure the company runs smoothly.

In addition, Njoki manages the website, Elephant bibliography, photo library and and the organisation’s historical archives.

When not engaged in the office, you will find her spending time with her daughter Kui and nephew or engaging in farming upcountry.

David Daballen

David Daballen

Director of Field Operations
David is an ambassador and warrior for elephants with a deep understanding of animal ecology and behaviour.   A Diploma holder in wildlife management, he has spent more than twenty years working at Save the Elephants (STE) and heads up STE’s Long Term Monitoring programme (LTM).  David can individually identify about 500 Samburu elephants on sight – a very unique talent! In addition to his monitoring work, he has led more than 200 collaring operations in Kenya, Mali and Uganda, often in dangerous and stressful circumstances.  As a Samburu elder, he inspires community action to protect elephants and acts as an important link between Save the Elephants, communities and the local authority. In the course of the 2009-2013 poaching crisis, David and his team led outreach campaigns that resulted in communities becoming vigilant to the ongoing elephant killings.  David has featured in numerous films and documentaries (BBC, Nat Geo, etc) and has represented STE overseas, rubbing shoulders with goodwill ambassadors from Yao Ming and Li Bingbing to Prince William and Bill Clinton. In 2022, David was named as a finalist in the prestigious Tusk Awards.
Dr. Lucy King

Dr. Lucy King

Head of Human-Elephant Co-Existence Program

Dr Lucy King was brought up in Somalia, Lesotho and Kenya. She has been researching the use of honey bees as a natural deterrent for crop-raiding elephants since 2006, and has published her findings in numerous scientific journals. Her DPhil thesis, through Oxford University and in partnership with Save the Elephants and Disney’s Animal Kingdom, was awarded the UNEP/CMS Thesis Award 2011 from the United Nations Environment Program’s Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species. She won The Future for Nature Award and The St Andrews Prize for the Environment in 2013. She is actively involved in the Kenyan Elephant Forum (KEF) and in 2013 she was invited to join IUCN’s African Elephant Specialist Group. Previously she completed an MSc in Biology, Integrative Bioscience, from Balliol College, Oxford (2006) and gained a First Class degree in Zoology from Bristol University (1999). Between 2000 and 2005, she led numerous conservation projects and adventurous expeditions to Africa and South America in her role as Operations Director for Quest Overseas. She now lives in Nairobi with her partner, leading further research into the use of bees as an elephant deterrent both in Kenya and further afield.

Maggie Kamau

Maggie Kamau

Grants & Admin Officer, Human-Elephant Co-existence Program

Maggie works at STE as a Finance Consultant and Admin for the Human-Elephant Co-existence (HEC) Program managing all donations and expenditures through program activities and providing Nairobi administrative support roles to the HEC.

 

Meha Kumar

Meha Kumar

HEC Toolbox Researcher, Human Elephant Co-Existence Program

Meha Kumar has a BSc in zoology from Nairobi University and experience working in Tsavo and Samburu for Save the Elephants. She is a researcher for the toolbox ensuring accuracy and credits are given to all contributors.

Liz Skipper

Liz Skipper

Head of Fundraising

Liz Skipper joined STE in 2022 as Head of Fundraising. Her remit is to develop and deliver a strategy for the future which will diversify and increase STE’s fundraising income.

Born and raised in South Africa, over the last 15 years she has worked in international development and aid, health and the music industry. Most recently in chief executive and director of fundraising and communications roles.

Liz brings significant experience in working with fundraising and operational teams to deliver transformational projects with donors and supporters. A passionate champion of all efforts to protect and conserve the natural world, Liz is delighted to contribute her skills to securing a future for elephants.

 

Pooja Dutt

Pooja Dutt

Director, Major Gifts

Pooja joined STE in 2019 with 14 years of fundraising experience at organisations in the US and Australia. However, her first passion has always been the protection of wildlife. She has a Bachelors in Zoology from Ohio Wesleyan University and a Masters in Wildlife Conservation from Macquarie University. Pooja has travelled extensively around the world and sought out volunteer opportunities at various wildlife rescue and conservation organisations. This includes stints at the Elephant Valley Project in Cambodia and Elephant Conservation Centre in Laos. So it seems like no accident that she found her way to Nairobi to join us at STE. In her own words, Pooja feels like she has been prepping for this role her entire life and is thrilled at the opportunity to contribute to STE’s important mission.

Julia Tinker

Julia Tinker

Individual Giving Manager
Julia joins Save the Elephants with over eight years of individual giving fundraising experience in various sectors including wildlife conservation and livelihood development. Her passion for wildlife and conserving natural spaces led Julia to study for her Masters degree in Applied Ecology and Conservation. Julia’s thesis focused on the importance of wildlife corridors for British butterflies and their adaptation to climate change. Julia is passionate about connecting people to take action for causes they care about, no matter where they are in the world. She is incredibly excited to help connect our global family of supporters to the elephants of Africa, so they can have a secure future.
 
 
 
Sanjay Mitra

Sanjay Mitra

Corporate Partnerships Manager

Sanjay joined Save the Elephants in 2022 and brings a wealth of knowledge in corporate partnerships management in the conservation arena having worked for a marine charity for almost a decade. Based in the UK, Sanjay has experience working in a wide range of sectors including hospitality, academia and the music industry, which have all given him opportunities to work and travel abroad, helping to keep that travel bug satiated, but also to broaden his horizons and meet new people!

Environmental issues are of great importance to him whether the focus of his past Masters research, previously working for a green theatre or supporting local beach cleanups. For him, working in elephant conservation with Save the Elephants is hugely fulfilling and rewarding, and he sees plenty of exciting opportunities to connect companies and their employees with the cause to provide meaningful support to save elephants and their precious habitats.

 

Winlet Vusha

Winlet Vusha

Database & Donor Relations Administrator
Winlet has a Bsc. in Economics and Mathematics from Kabarak University. She’s passionate about Information (data and technology), education and social impact. She also enjoys learning and discovering how to manage the downstream uses of organisational data in better ways. Winlet has previously worked as a data analyst, research assistant and systems administrator.
 
Shirley Simiyu

Shirley Simiyu

Fundraising Officer

Shirley joins STE with experience and passion in customer relations, engagement and management. She is the first point of contact for donor and partnership queries in the organization. Having a BA Journalism and Media studies from the University of Nairobi has contributed to her interest for working in Fundraising as she collates information and stories within the organization that support various fundraising income streams and projects. She is thrilled to provide people with an extra-ordinary way of investing in an idea that will help change the world. In this case, securing a future for elephants.

Jane Wynyard

Jane Wynyard

Head of Communications (Consultant)
Tanya Onserio

Tanya Onserio

Digital Media Manager
Salome Gitau

Salome Gitau

Communications Assistant

Salome is the new Communications Assistant at STE. She is a holder of a bachelor’s degree in communication and public relations. Her main duties include assisting with the management of STE’s social media and managing the organization’s media/press data. She also enjoys photography and gathering compelling and timely communications content. Salome has previously worked in a publishing company researching, interviewing, and compiling books.

Dennis Mwangi

Dennis Mwangi

Accountant

Dennis is the assistant accountant at STE. His main duties include assisting the CFAO with managing all STE Kenya accounts and Financial statements ,assisting the CFAO with payroll duties and other statutory obligations, management of Langata office petty cash ,management of STE inventory and disbursement of monthly student allowances. Dennis is a holder of a Bachelor of commerce degree (Finance) from Kenyatta University and is a continuing Certified Public accounts student.

Mercy Cherono

Mercy Cherono

Assistant Accountant

Mercy joined STE in November 2017 as an intern and later earned the role of Junior Accountant which she held until December 2020. In 2021 she was promoted to Assistant Accountant. Her main role in STE is working with the Elephants and Bees Project accounts as well as assisting the Accountant in various accounting and administrative duties.

Mercy has a Post Graduate Diploma in Tax Administration from JKUAT, a Bachelor of Commerce ( Accounting option) degree from Kenyatta University, and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) finalist.  She is currently (2021) pursuing her Certified Investment and Financial Analyst (CIFA) course offered by Kasneb.

Njoroge Ng'ang'a

Njoroge Ng'ang'a

Logistics Assistant
Nelson Mwangi

Nelson Mwangi

Research Officer/GIS
Michael Koskei

Michael Koskei

Research Officer/GIS

Michael is a research assistant, GIS. He is involved mainly on elephant tracking and mapping around the bee-hive fenced farms on the Tsavo Ecosystem. He joined STE in January 2015, after undergoing an internship in our Elephant and Bees project in Sagalla, Tsavo. Michael has Bachelors in Geography, Moi University and has pursued Msc. GIS and Remote Sensing from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology. He has previously worked as a GIS project officer at Flametree Systems Engineering Ltd, in Nairobi and later as a GIS consultant at International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Climate Change Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) East Africa. At ILRI, he was involved in building up a Geodatabase of biophysical, livelihood and economic variables meant for National Climate Change Action Plan. Michael is keen on applying remote sensing and other geospatial techniques to understand the spatial relationships, interactions and patterns within the wildlife ranges.

Benjamin Loloju

Benjamin Loloju

Corridors Manager

As Tracking Manager and GIS specialist, Benjamin has been part of Save The Elephants’ (STE) family for more than ten years; he was the first-ever STE scholarship student to get straight A’s in his final exams, appearing in Kenya’s top 100 students. Samburu-born, Benjamin also graduated from the University of Nairobi with First Class Honours in BSc Geo-Spatial Engineering and recently completed his MSc in geographical information management at Cranfield University in the UK. At STE, Benjamin analyses elephant movements, considers their minute to minute decisions, and creates maps of tracked elephants. These maps help inform local communities, developers as well as politicians about key habitat and passageways that must remain wild for elephants, and other endangered species, to be protected. 

Purity Milgo

Purity Milgo

Research/GIS Officer

Purity joined Save the Elephants in 2020 as an intern at the Elephants and Bees Project in Tsavo after completing her BSc in Zoology. She returned to Tsavo later that year as a Volunteer Field Assistant to help set up the Smelly Elephant Repellent Fence and BuzzBox Projects. After completing her internship and volunteering in Tsavo, she began working as Research Assistant within the Research Department in Nairobi where her roles mostly involve working with tracking data for mapping and analysis.

Purity enjoys learning and is profoundly interested in understanding the intricacies of animal behavior and its depictions on a temporal and spatial scale.

Nancy Odweyo

Nancy Odweyo

Head of Awareness
George Mugera

George Mugera

Conservation Education Officer
Daud Abdi

Daud Abdi

Field Education Officer

Daud began work at STE three years ago as an intern. He assisted Resson in her education visits to local schools as well as helping with LTM and mammal census. After several months Daud became a permanent staff member, leading mammal surveys in order to keep track of the populations of different species in Samburu and Buffalo Springs National Reserves. In addition he visits schools to teach and show video footage of wildlife to encourage children and the community to support conservation.

Gilbert Sabinga

Gilbert Sabinga

Camp Manager and GIS Technician

Gilbert is the Camp Manager at Save the Elephants. He provides direction and logistical support for all field staff in Samburu, while undertaking roles in finance management, administration and database updating. He also hosts and guides interns and visiting researchers, ensuring all their needs are met. His skills as a GIS technician serve him in monitoring elephant movement via STE’s cutting-edge tracking system viewed on Google Earth. He has participated Esri East Africa User Conference and numerous international conferences on Biodiversity, land use and climate change in Nairobi, and the African GIS Google outreach launch in Uganda. Gilbert previously worked with the Kenya Wildlife Service as Rhino research assistant. In 2013, he was nominated for the Project Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation, which he undertook in Washington DC.

Chris Leadismo

Chris Leadismo

Head of Wildlife Security

Chris Leadismo, our Head of Wildlife Security, works in tough conditions in Northern Kenya. When he’s not on patrol deep in the bush looking for elephant carcasses or poachers, he’s out among the local Samburu community helping keep peace in what can sometimes be a volatile landscape and coordinating on the ground security between our five different law enforcement partners. For the past  14 years, he has devoted himself to protecting elephants in Northern Kenya often spending months away from his family conducting missions where his life is at stake. front-line witness to the scale of the poaching onslaught that hit northern Kenya from 2009, Chris gathers critical information from elephant crime scenes, and trains others to do the same. Chris was a finalist in the African Ranger Award and in 2017, delivered an effective speech to the Hong Kong legislative council on behalf of STE and rangers across Africa. His heartfelt testimony and words of wisdom were powerful and four months later, in January of 2018, Hong Kong followed China’s lead by declaring their intention to ban their domestic ivory trade. Samburu, Chris describes his job as “my life, not my livelihood”.

“For generations, the Samburu have loved and respected the elephants that we live among. That is why it’s natural for me to devote my life to defending them.” – Chris Leadismo

David Letitiya

David Letitiya

Research Assistant

David Letitiya is from Ngurunit in northern Kenya. He began work as a research assistant with Save the Elephants in October of 2014. He is part of the long-term monitoring team, and can therefore differentiate approximately 500 elephants on sight. In addition to collecting daily demographic data in the field, David assists with dung collection for the orphan project, helps with collaring operations, and enters all collected data into the long-term database for future analyses. He is also the all-purpose guy in camp, always ready to jump up and do anything that is needed; he can often be found transporting park rangers, helping in emergency situations, and supporting general camp operations. David earned his diploma in wildlife management from the Kenya Wildlife Training Institute in Naivasha, Kenya in 2011. Save the Elephants is his first place of work, and he is appreciative and honored to be a part of the team.

David S. Lolchuragi

David S. Lolchuragi

Research Assistant
Saitoti Lesayan

Saitoti Lesayan

HEC Response Field Assistant
John Munga Leruso

John Munga Leruso

HEC Response Field Assistant
Wilson Lelukumani

Wilson Lelukumani

MIKE Officer and Research Assistant

Wilson is the Field Assistant in Kenya for the Elephants and Bees Project, overseeing data collection in the Samburu beehive project sites in Ngare Mara and Attan communities and helping down in Tsavo when extra help is needed. Wilson is from the Turkana tribe and has seen human-wildlife conflict escalate within his community. He is now a vocal advocate of the Beehive Fence deterrent system and is encouraging beekeeping activities within his community. As a field officer for the Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) project in Samburu, Wilson is acutely aware of the threat of humans to the lives of elephants in the area and believes that reducing human-elephant conflict could help improve the attitudes of local farmers and pastoralists to elephants.

Ljalu Lekalaile

Ljalu Lekalaile

VET Unit Driver
Steve Lekanai

Steve Lekanai

Head Chef
Stanley Musyoki

Stanley Musyoki

Assistant Chef

Stanley began work in the research camp as a chef in July of 2015. Prior to working with Save the Elephants, he was a chef at Riverside Camp for five years. This experience has made him an excellent cook, to the joy of everyone living in camp, who welcomed him with open arms. Stanley enjoys a good joke and has a bright smile that lights up the kitchen. He is originally from Machakos, Kenya.

Lembara Kiripis

Lembara Kiripis

Camp Security
Joseph L Lenkilel

Joseph L Lenkilel

Assistant Headrooms Steward

Special Advisers

DR. GEORGE WITTEMYER

Chairman – STE Scientific Board

Dr. Wittemyer serves as the Chairman of the Scientific Board of Save the Elephants and is an assistant professor in the Dept. of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology at Colorado State University. His research focuses on biodiversity conservation issues, with an emphasis on determining how landscapes, humans, and climate impact demography, distribution and movement of at risk wildlife populations. As a Fulbright Fellow in 1997, he founded the long term Samburu elephant monitoring project, on which he has been working ever since. He completed his PhD in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at the University of California, Berkeley in 2005 on the Socio-Ecology of the Samburu elephants. He joined the IUCN’s African Elephants Specialist Group in 2008 and currently serves as a technical advisor on elephants to the Kenya Wildlife Service. He has published over 40 peer-reviewed manuscripts on elephants and is currently working directly on elephant conservation projects in Kenya, Central African Republic, and Namibia as well as collaborating on elephant conservation projects across Africa.

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SABA DOUGLAS-HAMILTON

Kenyan Wildlife Conservationist

Saba Douglas-Hamilton is a conservationist, filmmaker and TV host.  She served as a Trustee of Save the Elephants (STE) for a decade and is now their lead ambassador. With a first class degree in Social Anthropology from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, she first worked with the Save the Rhino Trust in Namibia before helping establish STE’s research HQ in northern Kenya as the organisation’s first Head of Operations. As a wildlife filmmaker with the BBC Saba hosted nine award-winning TV series and twenty-four documentaries. As a communicator on conservation, she is acclaimed for her ability to inspire audiences around the world to engage with the wild world. She also runs Elephant Watch Camp, an intimate eco-camp and life-long partner of Save the Elephants.

Our Trustees

PROF. FRITZ VOLLRATH

Fritz-Vollrath

Chairman

Prof. Fritz Vollrath, the Chairman of Save the Elephants, studied in Germany and obtained his PhD (with a thesis on spider behaviour) in 1977 from Freiburg University. He completed research fellowships and fieldwork with the Max Plank Institute in Seewiesen and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. After 9 years in Oxford as Royal Society Post-doctorate Research Fellow and University Research Associate, 5 years in Switzerland (Basel) as Associate Professor and 8 years in Denmark (Aarhus) as Professor of Zoology, he is now back at the University of Oxford as Visiting Research Professor in the Department of Zoology and Senior Research Associate of Balliol College. Prof Vollrath’s research focuses on the evolution of spider web-building behaviour and on the extraordinary properties of the silk used to build the webs. His studies on the spider’s movements during web construction have led to analysis tools and novel insights into animal decision making. STE employs these findings at the other end of the scale of animal sizes while investigating elephant movements and decisions. Prof Vollrath has been an STE Trustee since the year 2002. In 2003 he became the new STE Chairman when Dr. Iain Douglas-Hamilton became President and CEO of the organisation. Together they published the first paper in 2002 on the use of African honeybees to prevent elephants from foraging on acacia trees. Prof. Fritz Vollrath, Department of Zoology, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK. Office: +44-1865-271234, Fax: +44-1865-358221

MARLENE MCCAY
Marlene

Trustee

Marlene McCay joined the Board of Trustees in the year 2001 and has continued to be one of Save the Elephants major supporters. In June 2003, Marlene McCay began a project in collaboration with STE and Kruger National Park to examine the population dynamics and movement of elephants within the Associated Private Nature Reserves (APNR) and the adjacent Kruger National Park (KNP). Together with STE and Timbavati Private Nature Reserve, Marlene has pioneered the Green Hunting of elephants as a complete alternative to lethal hunting.

AMBROSE CAREY

Trustee

Ambrose Carey joined Save the Elephants’ Board of Trustees in 2014.  Ambrose first came to Africa at the age of 19 when he assisted Iain Douglas-Hamilton in a campaign to save Uganda’s hard pressed elephants, at a time when the country was in the midst of a civil war.  In the late 1980s, Ambrose was part of an international network, set up by Douglas-Hamilton, to investigate and penetrate the inner workings of the ivory trade ultimately leading to the successful 1989 CITES ban.  In 2002, Ambrose co-founded Alaco Ltd  – a highly successful global business intelligence firm (http://www.alaco.com/).  He has a degree from the University of East Anglia.  He has remained dedicated to the conservation of wildlife and brings experience and a unique set of skills to STE.

MICHAEL A DAVITZ

 Trustee

Michael A. Davitz joined our board of trustees in June 2020. A physician-scientist and attorney, Michael has had a long association with Save the Elephants starting in the 1970s when he interned with our founder, Iain Douglas-Hamilton. Michael is a registered U.S. patent attorney as well as a physician with over 15 years’ experience in biomedical research, and more than 20 years’ experience providing strategic counseling to clients around the world in all aspects of intellectual property law.  Michael has published over 25 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals such as Science and Nature and is a highly sought-after public speaker on patent-related issues in the U.S.

PATRICIA AWORI

Pat Awori

 Trustee

Patricia joined STE’s Board of Trustees in 2022. Born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya, she holds a B.A. degree in International Relations, with a minor in the behavioral sciences. Her areas of expertise span history, literature, community wildlife conservation programs, international policy development, and wildlife conservation. Pat is Director of the Pan-African Wildlife Conservation Network and specializes in elephant behaviour and advocacy for wild species conservation. In her Directorship and advocacy role, Pat is a regular and vital attendee at international conferences such as CITES and the Convention on Biological Diversity. She also speaks at numerous conservation and environmental forums, including the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences.

Pat is a member of the East African Wildlife Society and has also helped establish influential advocacy groups such as the African Elephant Coalition and the Kenya Elephant Forum. Her advocacy efforts have contributed to various Kenyan legislations such as the latest wildlife bill. Pat’s passion for folklore, ancient traditions, and music means she has also dedicated a considerable amount of time to rural communities and their culture. Her passion and dedication for elephants and wildlife, and her deft communication make her a formidable elephant ally.

 

JULIE HULL

 Trustee

Julie Hull joined the Board of Trustees in 2022 after first being introduced to Save The Elephants in 2012. She has traveled extensively in Africa and has collaborated with wildlife conservationists to rally support for projects across the continent. Julie has a deep interest in Indigenous communities and is a longtime board member and past chair of a nonprofit devoted to empowering young Indigenous women in Guatemala. 

Julie’s love of elephant behaviour and wildlife conservation inspired her to become an advocate for Save The Elephants, and she is excited to share her 35+ years of experience in board governance, fundraising, communications, and philanthropy. She takes great joy in connecting people to the culture, communities, and wildlife of Kenya, and to STE.

Julie holds a BA from Middlebury College and a certificate in professional editing from the University of California at Berkeley. She works as a freelance copyeditor and resides in Shoreline, Washington.

 

 

Our Partners

Elephants live big lives and no single organisation can hope to secure a future for them on its own. STE is proud to be at the heart of a growing coalition united to save elephants.

 

 

Funding

Save the Elephants relies on donations from individuals and foundations to fund its work to secure a future for elephants. Our conservation activities are built on a continued pioneering research into the ecology and behaviour of elephants and on deep, data-driven insights into the ivory trade and its impacts on elephant populations.

Get In Touch With Us

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