All Speakers

Speaker Manuel PULGAR-VIDAL
Manuel PULGAR-VIDAL

Climate Crisis Commission Chairman

Council 2021-2025

Manuel Pulgar-Vidal has been appointed by the IUCN Council as the Interim Chair of IUCN’s recently established Climate Crisis Commission (CCC). IUCN Members decided to create the new expert...
Speaker Olga SHKABARDNYA
Olga SHKABARDNYA

General Director

Energy for Development

General Director of the non-profit organization “Energy for Development”, Head of CSR and Internal Communications at the State Atomic Energy Corporation "Rosatom". She graduated from the Faculty of...
Speaker Haya FAHMAWI
Haya FAHMAWI

Project Coordinator

IFAW

Haya Fahmawi is a dedicated wildlife conservationist and environmental advocate born in Amman, Jordan. With a Master’s degree in Wildlife Conservation and Management, Haya has spent the past five...
Speaker David ALCáZAR
David ALCáZAR

Ingeniero Geógrafo

Fundación EcoCiencia

Speaker Victoria SAWCHUK
Victoria SAWCHUK

GCELS Staff Student Intern

Center for Environmental Legal Studies

Victoria Sawchuk is a Staff Student Intern at the Global Center for Environmental Legal Studies (GCELS) and a J.D. Candidate (Class of 2026) at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University....
Speaker Consuelo ESPINOZA
Consuelo ESPINOZA

Regional Program Coordinator

IUCN SUR

An Ecuadorian environmental economist with 25 years of experience in project management in Latin America and globally, covering forestry, climate change, biodiversity, conservation, and human rights...
Speaker David OBURA
David OBURA

Director

Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)

David Obura is a Founding Director of CORDIO East Africa, chairs the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES, 2023-2026) and is on the Earth Commission (2019-2026)....
Speaker Nicolas MBENGUE
Nicolas MBENGUE

Coordonnateur des Opérations

Cegep de la Gaspésie et des Iles

Nicolas MBENGUE is Operations Coordinator at Cegep de la Gaspésie. His work spans all international cooperation projects coordinated by the Dakar Office. He has over seven years of professional...
Speaker Melissa DE KOCK
Melissa DE KOCK

Deputy Director

UNEP

Melissa is Deputy Director of UNEP-WCMC, providing leadership support across programmatic and policy issues. She provides programmatic oversight to key areas of UNEP-WCMC’s work; develops and...
Speaker Christopher WILCOX
Christopher WILCOX

Senior Director

WildAid

Over a 30-year career as a quantitative biologist, Dr. Chris Wilcox has worked with NGOs, philanthropic donors, government and private enterprise to develop cost effective solutions to natural...
Melesha GUNNING-BANHAN
Melesha GUNNING-BANHAN

IUCN Secretariat

Speaker Lara OCALLAGHAN
Lara OCALLAGHAN

GCELS Staff Student Intern

Center for Environmental Legal Studies

Lara O'Callaghan is a J.D. candidate at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, where she is actively involved with the Global Center for Environmental Legal Studies. Her studies focus...
Speaker Lucas CHE ICAL
Lucas CHE ICAL

Presidente y Representante Legal

Asociación Ak' Tenamit

Mayan spiritual guide specializing in traditional knowledge related to biodiversity conservation
Speaker Taís NOGUEIRA FERNANDES
Taís NOGUEIRA FERNANDES

Environmental specialist

Vale S/A

Specialist in strategic environmental management, corporate sustainability, and biodiversity, with 20+ years of experience leading high-impact projects in both industrial and academic sectors. Ph.D....
Speaker Anton Willems Delanoy
Anton Willems Delanoy

Director Ejecutivo

Fondo Nacional para Areas Naturales Protegidas por el Estado

Speaker matthijs VAN RIJN
matthijs VAN RIJN

Founder

THE GREEN INTELLIGENCE B.V.

Matthijs van Rijn is the visionary founder of The Green Intelligence, an organization dedicated to promoting sustainable agriculture, environmental conservation, and community empowerment. A nature...
Speaker Simon AWAD
Simon AWAD

Executive Director

EEC /ELCJHL

Simon I. Awad, Executive Director, Environmental Education Center of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land.Simon Awad, is the Executive Director of the Environmental...
Speaker Genti KROMIDHA
Genti KROMIDHA

President

Institute for Nature Conservation in Albania

President of the board of the Institute for Nature Conservation in Albania since 2015 and a senior expert on protected areas and natural resource management.I hold a PHD in ecological forest...
Speaker Sonja LUZ
Sonja LUZ

CEO Mandai Nature

Mandai Nature Fund Ltd

Dr Sonja Luz is the CEO of Mandai Nature, a Singapore-based non-profit conservation organisation jointly set up by Temasek and Mandai Wildlife Group (MWG) which manages the city-state’s zoological...
Speaker Susana WAQAINABETE
Susana WAQAINABETE

Vice President Pacific Islands Program

Conservation International

Susana Tuisese is Vice President for Conservation International’s Pacific Islands and Oceans Program. She has a Bachelor of Science from the University of the South Pacific and Master’s Degree in...
Speaker Ami VITALE
Ami VITALE

Photographer, filmmaker and journalist.

Vital Impacts

Ami Vitale’s career stands as a testament to her deep dedication to documenting and addressing global crises. As an acclaimed National Geographic photographer, writer, and documentary filmmaker, as...
Speaker Clara NELTOFT
Clara NELTOFT

Climate Finance and Investment Analyst

ICIMOD

Clara Lindhard Neltoft is a Climate Finance and Investment Analyst and Intervention Manager with the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), where she and her team work as...
Speaker Paul SALAMAN
Paul SALAMAN

President

Conservation Allies

Dr. Paul Salaman is a leading expert in global biodiversity conservation with more than 35 years of research and field experience across the tropics. He has dedicated his career to bridging academic...
Speaker Ted SCHMITT
Ted SCHMITT

Senior Director, OlmoEarth Partnerships

Allen Institute for AI

Ted Schmitt is the Senior Director of Conservation at the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence (Ai2). He leads partner engagement for the OlmoEarth program, an open-source AI platform that...
Speaker Pascal AHOUANVOEGBE
Pascal AHOUANVOEGBE

PhD Candidate/ Tokyo City University; IUCN CEM Young Professional Focal Point fo

IUCN

For over seven years, Pascal has been on the front lines of conservation, leading complex initiatives that protect biodiversity and promote sustainable future. A skilled strategist and partnership...
Speaker Yulia VERESHCHAK
Yulia VERESHCHAK

Director of international projects

Environmental Education Center Zapovedniks

Speaker Cristina EGHENTER
Cristina EGHENTER

Global Governance Policy Coordinator

WWF International

With over 20 years of experience in Indonesia with WWF, and building and working with civil society organizations platforms at local, national and global levels to advance equity and rights in...
Speaker Nisreen ELSAIM
Nisreen ELSAIM

FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Youth Alliance for Local Adaptation and Peace (YALAP)

Nisreen Elsaim is an accomplished environmental and climate activist with a Bachelor's degree in physics from the University of Khartoum, Sudan. She furthered her academic pursuits by obtaining a...