Mentorship

Karen Laurenson was passionate about animals and the outdoors from an early age and initially qualified as a vet in the UK.

However, the lure of Africa was difficult to resist even in that study period, and thus she could not refuse an opportunity to study for a PhD on cheetahs in the Serengeti of Tanzania, as it involved living and working on the world famous Serengeti Plains day after day.

Spoilt for life, after completing her PhD she did further research on wildlife diseases, focusing on the wildlife-livestock interface which took her to Scotland and to Ethiopia to study rabies and canine distemper in critically endangered Ethiopian wolves.  However, conservation was her real calling and not academia, and so, when an opportunity arose to return to work in Serengeti for Frankfurt Zoological Society with her husband and young family it was a no-brainer.

Since then, 2003, she has worked in a variety of management and technical advisory roles in Tanzania, Ethiopia and now Zambia for FZS, gaining in experience in NGO and grant management, protected area planning and general conservation approaches

 

Kristina Kesch has a doctorate in conservation biology and 10 years of experience in the conservation sector.  She worked as Programme Coordinator for University of Oxford’s (WildCRU) Trans-Kalahari Predator Programme in Botswana and Zimbabwe.   She also served as Programme Coordinator for SAVE Wildlife Conservation Fund Botswana and southern Africa Coordinator for the Range Wide Programme for Cheetah and African Wild Dog (Zoological Society of London).

She was responsible for strategic planning and project implementation, stakeholder liaison and workshop planning, management and coordination of regional conservation projects including staff and collaborators in several countries, budget management, fundraising, and technical and financial reporting to external donor agencies.

Kristina further co-led a focal area working group of the Kaza KCC – Kaza Carnivore Coalition.   She was a founding and steering committee member of the Botswana Carnivore Forum and is a member of the African Lion Working Group.  In July 2019 she joined the Frankfurt Zoological Society as Grants Coordinator for FZS Zambia.

Eleanor Harvie is the Africa Programme Lead for the Zoological Society of London.  She works with ZSL’s teams in-country to deliver conservation programmes in five African countries on projects to support protected area management, species monitoring, law enforcement, community managed conservation areas and alternative livelihoods.

She started working in conservation in Zambia in the Lower Zambezi and has worked on projects in Namibia, the Solomon Islands and Sri Lanka is now based in London.  Eleanor’s work includes guiding the strategy for ZSL’s Africa programme, fundraising , grant management and representing ZSL’s African conservation work in public fora.

Imakando Crispin Sinyama specialises in human capacity development & institutional strengthening.  Some of the work he has done throughout his career in conservation includes; community capacity development, workshop and seminar facilitation; education and learning process facilitation; project management; academic and technical writing; proposal development; and, writing and teaching in both the formal and non-formal sectors.

Imakando has almost 20 years experience in the conservation sector, from leading a conservation club to managing a regional freshwater program.  He worked for BirdWatch Zambia as Programs officer in the early 2000’s and later joined WWF Zambia as  District Coordinator in the Kafue Flats Game Management Area.  His work included working with local communities to enhance their local livelihoods through CBNRM.

Imakando joined the SADC- Regional Environmental Education Program (SADC-REEP) as Manager for the Orange – Senqu River Basin Commission (ORASECOM), working with water resource management specialists of the River basin states and communities in the same countries – Lesotho, South Africa, Botswana and Namibia.

His journey finally brought him to a Southern Africa combating wildlife crime where he is currently working as a Learning Advisor. He holds a Master’s degree in Education with a special focus on environmental sustainability and social change from Rhodes University, South Africa.

Born in Kitwe, the son of a policeman, Benson Kanyembo has devoted over 20 years of his life protecting Zambia’s wildlife.

Benson started his career in 1994, working as a scout in wildlife enforcement for the North Luangwa Conservation Project.  When, in 1997, The National Parks and Wildlife Service took over the programme, he became a village scout.  In 2000, after the formation of Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) he became a community scout.  During his time with ZAWA  he was promoted to the rank of Senior Wildlife Police Officer, being in charge of the training scouts.  In fact, from 2005, Benson also trained scouts for Conservation South Luangwa (CSL), before transferring to South Luangwa NP in 2008.

In 2009 Benson joined CSL as their Operations Manager.  During their restructure in 2018 he was promoted to Law Enforcement Adviser.  He now leads all CSL’s anti-poaching law enforcement and wildlife rescue operations in collaboration with Department of National Parks and Wildlife. During his time with CSL he has facilitated the growth and development of their anti-poaching unit – increasing it from 30 to 65 scouts.

In 2019 Benson’s commitment to conservation in Africa was recognized on the global stage when he was awarded the TUSK Wildlife Ranger Award in London by the Tusk Trust’s Royal Patron, HRH The Duke of Cambridge.

Griffin Shanungu obtained his Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Zambia (UNZA) in Ecology.  He went on to gain his Master of Science at UNZA (in partnership with ETH Zurich in Switzerland) in Integrated Water Resources Management, specialising in Floodplain Ecology.

Griffin has over ten years experience in the environmental and conservation sectors in Southern Africa, working for both international and government organisations.  Griffin joined the Zambia Wildlife Authority (now the Department of National Parks and Wildlife) in 2006, as a senior Ecologist.  He then worked for WWF Zambia’s Wetlands Program from 2011 to 2012.  He joined the International Crane Foundation in 2013 as their Country Representative for Zambia.

His work explores the interactions between wetland vegetation, threatened wetland birds, such as cranes, and large mammalian herbivores, such as the endemic Kafue Lechwe, in relation to environmental conditions in Zambia’s freshwater wetlands.  He also focuses on the impact that constructing dams has on floodplain ecosystems, and their effects on climate change.

Griffin is author and co-author of four peer reviewed scientific papers, along with writing articles for magazines and technical reports for the International Crane Foundation, WWF Zambia and the Department of National Parks and Wildlife.  He is currently a PhD candidate at the Vrije Universiteit, Brussels, with the Functional Ecology of Plants and Ecosystems Research group.  He is the programme Coordinator of Zambia Cranes and Wetlands Conservation Programme Convention on Wetlands.

Rabson Tembo’s journey with Conservation Lower Zambezi – CLZ started as a student, when he was 15 years old.  He visited CLZ on a school trip as part of his school’s Chongololo Club (Conservation Club) in 2005.  He had very little understanding as to why we should look after the environment and while growing up, was taught that animals are dangerous, especially elephants and hippos for raiding crops.  His visit to CLZ was an inspiration and changed how he looked at the environment, which led to his chosen career path in conservation.

Rabson now runs the Law Enforcement programme at CLZ.  He plans and communicates all their wildlife activities both in the Lower Zambezi National Park (LZNP) and its surrounding Game Management Areas (GMAs), working closely with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife.

Thandiwe Mweetwa is a wildlife biologist working on large carnivore conservation with the Zambian Carnivore Programme.  As Project Manager for ZCP’s Luangwa site in Eastern Province, she coordinates the organisation’s research, conservation and outreach activities in South Luangwa National Park, Zambia (SLNP) and the adjoining Game Management Areas.

Her other area of interest is exploring innovative and meaningful ways of balancing human development goals and biodiversity protection in a rapidly changing world.  Thandiwe is also passionate about promoting interest in nature-based careers among local youths.  Four years ago she initiated the ‘Women in Wildlife Conservation Training Program’ aimed at providing training and opportunities for Zambian young women to pursue careers in the wildlife sector.

Thandiwe is a National Geographic Explorer and an alumna of the Obama Foundation Leaders:  Africa Program.  She holds a BSc in Applied Animal Biology from the University of British Columbia and an MSc in Natural Resources Conservation from the University of Arizona.

Sarah Davies is the Justice and Awareness Director and co-founder of WCP – Wildlife Crime Prevention. Sarah has a BA of Law and French from the University of Newcastle, a diploma in Law and International Development and after her BPP Legal Practice Course, qualified into an international law firm in the City of London specializing in environmental law.

After practicing in London for 4 years, she moved to Zambia where she has worked in conservation both in protected area management at Conservation Lower Zambezi – CLZ and anti-trafficking at WCP for over 10 years.

Sarah leads a team of 10 qualified Zambian lawyers supporting wildlife crime prosecutions in Zambia, as well as an awareness team increasing public engagement in tackling illegal wildlife trafficking.