All Speakers

ALAYA DE LEON

Deputy Executive Director

Philippine Tropical Forest Conservation Foundation / Forest Foundation Philippines

Alaya “Aya” de Leon is an environmental lawyer with over 15 years' experience in the Philippines and at international level, focused on climate change, forests and land use, nature-based solutions,…

Monika BERTZKY

Senior Manager and Head of Safeguards

Asesoramiento Ambiental Estrategico (AAE)

20 years of experience in international conservation, and ca 10 years of experience on environmental and social safeguards in conservation, climate change adaptation and mitigation and sustainable…

Guilherme OLIVEIRA

Scientific Director

Vale Institute of Technology

Dr. Oliveira’s current work focuses on describing the biodiversity of the amazon, from a molecular perspective, with the use of DNA barcoding, genomics, and proteomics approaches. Extensive use of…

Mauricio ALBORNOZ INIESTA

Director de Cine

Cactus Cine

Mauricio Albornoz Iniesta studied Image and Sound Design at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA). His experience includes directing, executive producing, editing, screenwriting, and assistant…

Vivian EJEZIE

Communications Assistant, MCSU

IUCN Secretariat

Vivian is an analytical communications professional with expertise in developing and designing initiatives tailored to diverse audiences. She holds a Master’s degree in International Politics from…

Helga Katharina Mahler

Project Director

GIZ PANORAMA

Helga Katharina Mahler is a Project Director at GIZ, author, and humanitarian, working transdisciplinarily and transculturally to drive sustainable transformation. She co-coordinates the global…

Michele DIEKMANN

Director

KfW Development Bank

Michele Diekmann, Director Sector Policy at KfW Development Bank.Michele Diekmann is Director of Sector Policy at KfW Development Bank in Frankfurt, with over two decades of experience in…

Simon TARR

Red List Data Manager

IUCN

I am a strategic and technical leader with a commitment to using data and technology to drive global conservation efforts.As the Red List Data Manager at the International Union for Conservation of…

Tinne VAN DER STRAETEN

Member of Parliament

Belgian Federal Parliament

Tinne Van der Straeten is a member of the Belgian Federal Parliament. She served as Federal Energy Minister between October 2020 and January 2025. During her term, she accelerated the energy…

Richard Labilé SAGNO

Coordinateur

IUCN - International Union for Conservation of Nature

Richard Labilé SAGNO is a Guinean professional committed to promoting nature-based solutions and the sustainable governance of natural resources. A Rural Economics Engineer, he has over a decade of…

Noel OETTLE

Network Coordinator

Indigo development & change

Noel Oettlé holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Agricultural Development from the University of London. He worked as an organic farmer before serving for 8 years as the founding Director of the Farmer…

Emmanuelle Matras-Swynghedauw

Adjointe de l’Ambassadrice pour l’environnement

Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères

Karimah HUDDA

Founder and Chief Catalyst

illumine.earth

Karimah Hudda is the Founder and Chief Catalyst of illumine.earth. From roots in small-town India, Karimah became a global citizen, living, working, and traveling across nearly 50 countries.For over…

Christine Mentzel

Senior Programme Officer

IUCN ESARO

Christine has a background in Zoology and a Masters Degree in African Mammalogy from the University of Pretoria. After a detour into the corporate sector, she began her conservation career in the…

Matt Williams

Senior Advocate

NRDC

Aleksander TRAJCE

Executive Director

PPNEA

Aleksandër Trajçe is the Executive Director of PPNEA, the oldest and largest nature conservation organisation in Albania. Active in nature conservation since 2004, he combines a strong scientific…

Fatima EL-AARABY

Phd student

IUCN Commission on Environmental, Economic, and Social Policy 2021-2025

Fatima El-Aaraby is a Moroccan researcher, biodiversity advocate, and PhD candidate at Abdelmalek Essaadi University in Tetouan. Her doctoral research focuses on the distribution and conservation…

Stephen SUTI AGALO

Mohamed Mahdy HASSONA

IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management 2021-2025

Renowned horticulturist Mohamed Hassona, the lead at the Qur'anic Botanic Garden under Qatar Foundation, brings his exceptional expertise to fostering green development. With vast experience in areas…

Tazarf Shamirova

Conservation Officer

Tajikistan Nature Foundation

I am Tazarf Shamirova, a dedicated conservation practitioner with a background in Earth and Environmental Sciences. Since 2023, I have been actively involved in wildlife conservation and sustainable…

Cristian DíAZ

Coordinador de comunicaciones

Sociedad Peruana de Derecho Ambiental

Cristian Díaz has been working as Communications Coordinator at the Conservamos por Naturaleza initiative of the Peruvian Society for Environmental Law since 2019. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in…

Fiesta WARINWA

Simon JULIEN

Programme Officer - Food and Agricultural Systems

IUCN Secretariat

Simon Julien coordinates the development of knowledge products, metrics, tools and frameworks relating to sustainable agriculture, and designs accompanying capacity-building activities. This includes…

Elise HUFFER

Cultural Consultant

IUCN Commission on Environmental, Economic, and Social Policy 2021-2025

Regional Vice Chair, OceaniaElise’s interests and work are in the areas of culture, conservation and development and the relationships between them in Oceania. She is an Adjunct Associate Professor…

Jinghao XIAO

Deputy Director,Low-Carbon Eco-City Planning Research Center

Guangzhou Urban Planning & Design Survey Research Institute Co., Ltd

Antonin VERGEZ

Senior expert for natural resources economics

IUCN

Antonin Vergez is a Senior Economist at IUCN, Centre for Science and Knowledge, Economy and Finance Team. He is an agricultural engineer and holds a PhD in Social Sciences with a major in…

Thanatat ANIWAT

Sustainability Manager

TCP Group

Thanatat Aniwat is a sustainability and social impact professional with over a decade of experience leading high-impact programs across the corporate and non-profit sectors. As Sustainability Manager…

Abdo Kaseem Alsharif

Assistance of Deputy Minister for Int. Affairs and Climate

The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture