GIVE A SIP - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Ex Officio Trustee
- Speaker, New York City Council
Job Titles:
- Country Director
- Country Director Mozambique at WCS
Afonso Madope serves as Country Director Mozambique at WCS. Afonso Madope is a Mozambican conservation and biodiversity expert with 30 years of experience in advancing conservation initiatives throughout Mozambique, working 9 years at Office Forestry and Wildlife at the Ministry of Agriculture, first as a technical expert and later as the National Director of the Office of Forestry and Wildlife and also served as the Inhambane Provincial Director for Agriculture and as the National Director for for Conservation Areas at the Ministry of Tourism. Then helped oversee de-mining efforts in and around Gorongosa National Park through a project funded by the European Union before coordinating the Mozambique Conservation Areas for Biodiversity and Development Project, known as Mozbio, on behalf of the Ministry of Environment and Rural Development. He joined the USAID-funded Supporting the Policy Environment for Economic Development (SPEED+) Project as the Portfolio Manager for Biodiversity, where he oversaw implementation of over $11 million in conservation-related assistance to the Government of Mozambique, including support to the Prosecutor's Office and the Supreme Court on prosecuting wildlife crime and also supported the completion of the Law of Protection, Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biological Diversity (Law No. 5/2017), including key implementing regulations such as on General Regulation, Game Farm Regulation, Avifauna Regulation and the Professional Hunters Regulation as well a numerous other technical assistance activities around conserving Mozambique biodiversity resources. Madope recently joined the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) as Mozambique's country manager, where he will oversee all of WCS activities throughout Mozambique. WCS is a US nonprofit, tax-exempt, private organization established in 1895 that saves wildlife and wild places by understanding critical issues, crafting science-based solutions, and taking conservation actions that benefit nature and humanity.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Elected Trustee
- Member of the Board Officers Team
Job Titles:
- Forest and Climate Regional Director, Andes Amazon Orinoco Region
Job Titles:
- Ex Officio Trustee
- President, Borough of Brooklyn
Boris Miguel Arevalo is a Belizean wildlife biologist, with many years of experience in applied natural resource management and conservation research. In 2021, he joined WCS Belize as the Assistant Country Director-Terrestrial. Prior to joining WCS, Mr. Arevalo worked for over 10 years in the Chiquibul Forest with Friends for Conservation and Developing spearing heading the Biodiversity Research and Monitoring program. He has a Master of Science degree in management and conservation of tropical forests and biodiversity from The Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE), Costa Rica and a PhD in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation from the University of Florida. During his PhD, he studied factors affecting nest success, resource use, and habitat suitability of the endangered northern sub-species of scarlet macaws in Belize and the broader Selva Maya region. Mr. Arevalo work interest range from protected areas management, landscape ecology, GIS for natural resource management, conservation and management of species, and agricultural practices to enhance biodiversity conservation in a human dominated matrix.
Job Titles:
- Ex Officio Trustee
- Comptroller of the City of New York
Job Titles:
- Assistant
- Dumangane Serves As Assistant at WCS
Job Titles:
- Director of Public Policy
Job Titles:
- Deputy Secretary
- General Counsel
- Senior Vice President
Claudine Tuyishime ctuyishime@wcs.org Conservation Education & Outreach Officer Responsible for the development and implementation of conservation education and outreach activities in schools and communities in collaboration with Education Dept. in New York.
Cremilda Lenita Jose serves as Senior accountant at WCS.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director, Forests and Climate Change
Job Titles:
- Chairman Emeritus
- Life Trustee
Since joining the team at WCS in March 2016, Deseree has been working tirelessly to achieve one of the organizations strategic goals of raising its public profile, not just in Belize, but also regionally and internationally. Important achievements, activities, marine and terrestrial research work have been highlighted via social media, and traditional media outlets, locally, regionally and internationally. Deseree has also written several newspaper articles on WCS's work, which have been published in The Reporter, Guardian, and San Pedro Sun both print and online; and online in Ambergris Today and Breaking Belize News. Her most recent research article on conch was published online via Earth Journalism Network; and blog on the Fisheries Resurces Bill on medium.com. She has participated in numerous outreach and educational events to showcase the work of WCS; as well as hosted a number of events in which WCS has participated, including Earth Hour, Commemoration of Belize being Removed from WHS Danger List; and the Green Globe Panel Discussion. In her capacity as WCS's Communications Coordinator, Deseree has also been instrumental in supporting the launch of Seasons 2 and 3 of the 2-time Award-Winning Punta Fuego Radio Drama, which is the communications component to WCS's Replenishment Zones Initiative. She also previously served as the communications focal point for the Fish Right Eat Right Initiative, and secretary for the Belize World Heritage Advisory Committed, commissioned in January 2018. Before joining the dynamic team at WCS Belize Global Program, Deseree Arzu spent close to two decades working in the media as News Director, Radio Personality, Remote Broadcast Manager, and Journalist at the now defunct Broadcasting Corporation of Belize, and more recently, Krem Radio, where she spent a total of 12 years. She later moved on to the Public Utilities Commission where her role focused on consumer affairs and public relations. She holds a B.A. in English from the University of Belize; and a Master of Science in Communications and Media Technologies from the Rochester Institute of Technology. Deseree's main desire is for Belizeans to see conservation, not as a job for NGO's and/or government, but, as a collective initiative that involves and requires each and every one's interest and participation.
Job Titles:
- Director of Innovative Finance, Forests and Climate Change
Job Titles:
- Director
- Director Conservation
Dr. Grace Nangendo, Director Conservation Planning and Research at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Uganda. Dr. Nangendo brings in a wealth of applied conservation expertise, and spatial science and research knowledge. Dr. Grace Nangendo is a landscape ecologist with over 25 years of carrying out ecology assessments and experience in Geographic Information Systems & Remote Sensing assessment. She also has experience in Project/Environmental Impact Assessment, Land Use Planning, Conflict Analysis, project planning and management. In addition to carrying out work at WCS, she supports Government of Uganda's natural resources assessment activities. She has worked with Government institutions to develop several Acts and Policies, and key documents to guide natural resource management and monitoring, especially in the oil and gas sector. She sits on various national committees that guide natural resource assessment and environment monitoring in Uganda. Dr Nangendo holds a PhD in Forest Ecology and Management and MSc in Geo-information Science in Forestry. In addition to currying out GIS and remote sensing work in Uganda, she has supported teams carrying out more technically demanding work in WCS Rwanda and DRC offices. Dr. Nangendo's work is published in research articles, reports, and she acted as Coordination Lead Author of the IPBES assessment on Land Degradation and Restoration.
Job Titles:
- Director of Science, Forests and Climate Change
Job Titles:
- Climate Adaptation Scientist
Job Titles:
- Senior Director for Forest Conservation
Job Titles:
- Ecological Integrity Research Specialist
Job Titles:
- Project Assistant
- Assistant at WCS
Eleutério Duarte serves as Assistant at WCS. Eleutério Duarte, Is a young Mozambican in early career in conservation, holds a degree in Aquatic, Coastal and Marine Biology, from the department of biological sciences at Eduardo Mondlane University. Eleutério joined WCS since the end of February 2019 as a project assistant, having started his career at WCS working in the project to identify and map Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) in Mozambique, completed in 2021, being one of the first KBAs assessments worldwide according to the new global standard. Since then Eleutério has been working in other related projects from the WCS Mozambique Marine program, including the project to support the government for the strategic expansion of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Currently he is working with the COMBO+ program implemented in 6 countries, including Mozambique, with the aim aims of promoting a best practice approach to reconciling economic development with biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services by mitigating the impacts generated by development projects. Eleuterio is specialised in Biodiversity Research, Geographic Information Systems, Data Analysis, and design. His great passion for biodiversity conservation drives him to assume new challenges. He has a great thirst for learning and exploring new experiences to support biodiversity conservation in Mozambique.
Job Titles:
- Elected Trustee
- Member of the Board Officers Team
- Secretary
Job Titles:
- Ex Officio Trustee
- Mayor of the City of New York
Erica Bernardo has a BSc degree in Computer Science and Telecommunications Engineering from Instituto Superior de Transportes e Comunicações (ISUTC) in Mozambique. Prior to joining WSC, Erica worked as a consultant at a Mozambican based consultancy named OzMozis, Lda. under the leadership of Dr. Michael Baxter. At OzMozis she was involved in the conception, planning, elaboration and implementation of a few projects, ranging from agricultural based projects to projects in the extractive industry. Erica has recently joined WCS Mozambique working as an Office Manager and is mainly responsible for the management of administration in the Maputo office (MPO) and Human Resources.
Felix Mulindahabi (Rwanda) fmulindahabi@wcs.org Biodiversity Research & Monitoring Officer One of the longest serving project staff, joined project in early 1990's. Extensive experience supervising all field staff and research projects in Nyungwe.
Francisco is graduated in Tourism Management from Eduardo Mondlane University - Mozambique and Master in Transport Management from Brasilia University - Brazil. Prior to joining WCS, Francisco worked as a Tourism Lecturer at Eduardo Mondlane and São Tomás Universities, with a focus on tourist marketing. He has a specific interest in tourist planning and its communication and business interfaces. He worked as a consultant for the Ministry of Education to develop ecotourism manuals for the 8th and 9th classes of general secondary education. From 2014 to 2018 he headed the Civil Aviation Authority's air transport economics department and developed projects such as liberalization of air transport and licensing of new air transport operators in Mozambique. Francisco started with WCS Mozambique in early 2018 as Business Development Manager for Niassa National Reserve. In early 2019 he switched to become Communication Manager, working out of the Maputo office to give more exposure to all WCS Mozambique programs and to attract more investors and donors.
Gianelie Cuellar-Mai received her Bachelor's Degree in Accounting from the University of Belize in 2006. Since then she has served in both private sector and in international organization for the productive sector development of Belize. She has been onboard WCS's Belize Program since 2014 as the Finance Manager and has brought her experience and positive can do attitude to the Belize field office. Her role has allowed her to work with various donors and budgets allowing her to expand her 14 years of technical experience along with introducing new ideas to the Finance department. She fervently believes in proper procedures and fairness to all her colleagues. As time has elapsed Gianelie has grown within the organization as has her responsibilities. Gianelie appreciates the importance in the work that WCS has accomplished and is proud to be a part of the change.
Job Titles:
- Elected Trustee
- Member of the Board Officers Team
- Vice Chair
Job Titles:
- Database Management Officer
Harriet Musabende serves as Database Management Officer at WCS.
Job Titles:
- Chairman Emeritus
- Life Trustee
Hugo Costa has a degree in Zoology and a Master in Environmental Impact Assessment. He has over 20 years of professional experience, having participated in projects in Africa and Europe. Hugo joined WCS in 2016 as the COMBO Project Manager for Mozambique and since 2019 he is also managing projects on Red List of Threatened Species, Ecosystems and identification and mapping of Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs). He has been supporting the country program on promoting an improved policy and legal framework for biodiversity conservation and planning. At the end of 2018 Hugo launched WCS's Mozambique marine program and has been coordinating it since then. Before joining WCS Hugo managed his own biodiversity consultancy companies in Europe and Africa for 12 years. He conducted and/or coordinated over 500 biodiversity monitoring programs, assessments and plans for different types of projects such as wind farms, dams, power lines, power stations, pipelines, roads, railways, oil & gas, mining, solar and wave energy projects, agriculture, forestry, ports, industry, and infrastructure in general. Additionally, he developed and participated in mitigation and compensatory/offset programs, identification and valuation of biodiversity and ecosystem services, conservation programs, climate change adaptation, biodiversity action plans and management planning. Besides consultancy and technical-scientific advisory, Hugo is co-author of 1 book, 16 peer-reviewed scientific papers and several dozens of technical papers and reports.
Isaac Kirya serves as IWT/CWT Project Manager at WCS.
Job Titles:
- Senior Project Officer
- Senior Projector Officer
Isaac Mujaasi serves as Senior Project Officer at WCS.
Job Titles:
- Executive Vice President & General Director, Zoos and Aquarium, and Jonathan Little Cohen Director of the Bronx Zoo
John Begumana serves as National Carbon Expert for Uganda at WCS.
Job Titles:
- Executive Vice President for Public Affairs
Joseph Ngango jngango@wcs.org Country Finance Manager Responsible for all finance and administration issues related to WCS operations in Rwanda.
Job Titles:
- Executive Vice President for Global Conservation
Job Titles:
- Community Fisheries Coordinator
Julio Maaz is the Community Fisheries Coordinator. He works closely with local fishers to promote responsible fisheries management concepts and is a very active member of the technical team supervising the managed access program. Prior to joining WCS, Julio worked for six years with the Belize Fisheries Department, where he supervised the enforcement branch, which extended to prosecutionof fisheries offences. He is leading WCS's innovative program on the use of technology to improve national enforcement at sea. Julio has an associates's degree in biology and chemistry.
Julius Businge serves as Finance & Administration Assistant at WCS.
Job Titles:
- Climate Change Communications Officer
Job Titles:
- Conservation Planning Specialist
Kenneth graduated from the Belize College of Agriculture in 1997 with an Associate's Degree in Applied Science. He worked for a number of Government and Non-Governmental organizations in various capacities. He was employed by the Belize Fisheries Department as reserve manager for the Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve, and the Caye Caulker Marine Reserve. Kenneth also served as the Turneffe Islands Spawning Aggregation Marine Reserve project manager for the World Wildlife Fund, as park director at Blue Hole and Halfmoon Caye Monument for the Belize Audubon Society, and most recently as station manager for the University of Belize's Calabash Caye Field Station.
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer
- Senior Vice President
A more complete listing of WCS's worldwide leadership is contained in WCS's Annual Report.
Job Titles:
- Ex Officio Trustee
- Commissioner, Department of Cultural Affairs, City of New York
Madeleine Nyiratuza mnyiratuza@wcs.org Project Manager Joined in 2012 to especially manage an ecosystem monitoring grant with Conservation International.
Job Titles:
- Office Assistant
- WCS As an Administrative Assistant
Martins serves as Office Assistant in the WCS Mozambique Country Program Office in Maputo. Martins Mahumane recently joined WCS as an administrative assistant and driver. Before joining WCS in 2018, Martins worked as administrative assistant and responsible for the sector of logistics and fleet management of Australian company Aurizon International in Maputo Pty (2012-2015) During 2008-2012, Martins worked as a freelancer for several car rental companies in the city of Maputo as a Driver and Tour Guide. He was a driver for the SADC Ministerial Committees, Politics and Diplomacy. 2004- 2008- Martins was part of the social television team, having spent little time until joining Game Maputo as a sales promoter.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President for Communications
Mediatrice Bana mbana@wcs.org Nyungwe Forest Conservation Project Director Joined WCS in 2011. Served as Sustainable Financing Officer until September, 2015.From 2015 she oversees Nyungwe Project activities.
Michel Masozera mmasozera@wcs.org Director Policy and Institutional Partnerships- Africa A former Project Director in Nyungwe, returned as Country Director in 2010. Extensive experience in environmental economics and PES.
Job Titles:
- Wildlife Conservation Society 's Belize Program As a Technical Coordinator for Marine Research
Myles Phillips joined the Wildlife Conservation Society's Belize Program as a Technical Coordinator for Marine Research in 2018. He completed an MSc in Natural Resources Management (Coastal and Marine Resources) at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus. Since 2009, Myles has held technical posts in Barbados, The Bahamas, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada in various capacities related to marine research, marine resource monitoring and protected area management. His role with WCS comprises leadership of marine monitoring programs, database management, conducting marine training sessions and workshops for stakeholders, development of outreach materials, and service as a delegate on several national committees. Myles stands at the helm of several of WCS's monitoring programs, and coordinates them through the data collection, archival, interpretation and reporting phases to inform management activity and planning by the Belize Fisheries Department. He has also been responsible for the aggregation of these annual datasets into congruent time-series of data, which have been used for the production of highly impactful peer reviewed articles on Belize's most economically important fisheries. In his previous role with The Nature Conservancy's Eastern Caribbean Program, Myles trained stakeholders across that region in marine monitoring according to the Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA) Protocol, and spearheaded reef surveys and habitat mapping exercises in multiple countries in collaboration with the Healthy Reefs Initiative. He also worked with the Senior Program Manager to implement a series of stratified stakeholder meetings in six countries to collect baseline information for regional marine spatial planning efforts by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
Naseeba Sidat has Hons. degree in Marine, Coastal and Aquatic Biology from Biological Science Department, in University of Eduardo Mondlane, Mozambique. Prior to joining WCS, she started the first steps in biodiversity conservation, as volunteer and intern in Centro Terra Viva (CTV), a national NGO that work on Marine field. At CTV, she was involved in environmental education and in the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Program working on the Marine Turtle Monitoring Program. Naseeba joined WCS in early 2017, as technician for COMBO Project (Conservation, Impact Mitigation and Biodiversity Offsets in Africa), which aims to reconcile the economic development and biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services. Her passion for biodiversity conservation brings her to accept new challenges, especially in the coastal and marine area. She has a huge thirst in learning, gaining knowledge and experience in biodiversity conservation.
Nicolas Ntare nntare@wcs.org Conservation & Research Officer Joined the project as a student, studied Owl-faced monkeys. Now supervising trans-boundary activities in Kibira and general research and monitoring of Nyungwe.
Ms. Auil Gomez joined WCS in 2016 and brings a wealth of experience from both NGO and government sectors. She has served as Executive Director of Belize's Southern Environmental Association (SEA), worked in technical positions at the Coastal Zone Management Authority and Wildlife Trust Belize, and undertaken manatee research in conjunction with Sea to Shore. She holds a Master's in Wildlife and Fisheries Science from Texas A&M University, with a research focus on coastal zone management and expertise in the endangered Antillean manatee. She also has ample experience in management, fundraising, politics, and policy, and is a Whitley award winner.
Job Titles:
- HR Manager
- Country Human Resources Manager for WCS Mozambique
- HR Manager at WCS
Orlanda Celeste Manhiça serves as HR Manager at WCS. Orlanda Manhiça, is the Country Human Resources Manager for WCS Mozambique. Orlanda is a Mozambican Human Resources Leader Expert, with over 20 years of experience working in multinational, and multicultural workplaces leading all Human Resources function aspects, by advising the Executive, on managing digital transformation as well as promoting cultural diversity. Also developed and implemented strategic and operational HR plans through various planning cycles. Orlanda Manhica led successful negotiations with Unions from different industries, employees and enforced local and international HR compliance in the organizations. High skilled in building strategic partnerships with good communication skills, has the current human capital practices that attract and retain top talent, as well as develops strategies that motivate teams and individuals to achieve business objectives. : Strategic Talent Planning, Recruitment & Management, Performance Management, Employee Wellbeing, Executive Leadership, Reward and Benefits, Learning and Development, Succession Planning, Culture Transformation, Change Management, Leadership and Mentoring, Organizational Development, Expat Work Permit & Visa, Local Tax Law, Industrial Relations, SAGE VIP, SAGE, | Labour Law, Government, Immigration and the partnering with Shareholders.
Job Titles:
- Executive Vice President and Chief of Global Resources
Protais Niyigaba pniyigaba@wcs.org Biodiversity Monitoring Officer Protais Niyigaba joined WCS in 2014 as a Conservation Leadership Program (CLP) Intern and was hired in 2015 as the Biodiversity Monitoring Officer at WCS.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Interim President
Interim President and Chief Executive Officer; Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Job Titles:
- GLOVERS REEF RESEARCH STATION
Job Titles:
- Ex Officio Trustee
- Commissioner, Department of Parks
Job Titles:
- Elected Trustee
- Member of the Board Officers Team
- Treasurer
Job Titles:
- Lead, Forest Landscape Restoration
Job Titles:
- Ex Officio Trustee
- President, Borough of the Bronx
Job Titles:
- Chairman Emeritus
- Life Trustee