Ewaso Lions

Jeneria joined Ewaso Lions in 2008 at the young age of 19 years old. At that time, he spoke limited English and saw lions only as killers of goats and cows. Since then, Jeneria has been promoted from Lion Scout to Field Assistant to Field Operations and Community Manager and in 2019 was promoted to Director of Community Conservation. As anyone can attest, Jeneria’s knowledge of lion identification, ability to transform conflict, and vast relational skills are key to Ewaso Lions’ functioning.

In 2015, Jeneria won the Conservation Hero Award, the Wildlife Warrior Award from the Houston Zoo, won the inaugural Africa’s Ranger Award from the Paradise Foundation in 2018; he was a finalist for the Tusk Conservation Awards in 2019 and he was awarded the Explorers Club – 50 Explorers Awards and Top 100 Young African Conservation Leaders in 2021. It was Jeneria who conceived the Warrior Watch programme in 2010 and has since been responsible for engaging dozens of Samburu warriors in lion conservation. “Lions are in my bloodstream now,” he says. Jeneria and his team of warriors were featured in National Geographic in 2017 and Citizen TV in 2019.

Ewaso Lions

Munteli Lalparasoroi have been the driving force behind our Mama Simba (“mother of lions”) programme. Munteli, who comes from Sasaab village, was eager to get involved in conservation and approached us asking for training and education, leading to the creation of the Mama Simba programme (together with Mparasaroi).

In 2023, Munteli took on a new role as Mama Simba Manager, and is responsible for training and mentoring all the Mama Simba ladies, as well as development of the programme, especially with regard to conservation and cultural workshops, wildlife safaris, lion habitat recovery activities and the “bush school”. Over the years, Munteli has become an incredible spokeswoman for lions and is a real inspiration to many around her.

In 2017, Munteli became the first woman driver in the region and is often seen in her Land Cruiser driving through Westgate Conservancy!

Ewaso Lions

Born and raised in Kenya, Shivani believes the key to lion conservation is working in partnership with local communities. She founded Ewaso Lions in 2007 to promote coexistence between carnivores and people.

Shivani’s commitment to Kenya’s lions has earned her a 2014 Whitley Award, the 2023 Whitley Gold Award with the team, the 2013 Rabinowitz-Kaplan Prize for the Next Generation in Wild Cat Conservation, the ‘Africa’s Young Women Conservation Biologist of 2009 award by the Society of Conservation Biology, the Virginia McKenna Award for Compassionate Conservation from the Born Free Foundation, and she has been named an Emerging Explorer by National Geographic.

She is a member of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group, African Lion Working Group, Kenya’s Large Carnivore Taskforce, and a founding member of the Pride Lion Conservation Alliance. Shivani is also on the Advisory Board of the Pangolin Project – Kenya, the Steering Committee of the Ethical Conservation Alliance, and on the Sounds Right Advisory Panel. Shivani has a BSc. in Environmental Science from Lancaster University, received her MSc. in Wildlife Biology and Conservation from Edinburgh Napier University, and was awarded her DPhil in Zoology from Oxford University in 2017.

Previously, she has worked for the Kenya Wildlife Service and Save The Elephants. Shivani moved to Samburu in 2002 and lives in the Ewaso Lions Camp in Westgate Conservancy.

ConserveAbility Pathways Ltd

Dr Irene Amoke is a landscape ecologist with over twenty years of practical experience in conservation. Her work focuses on developing and implementing strategies for sustainable coexistence between humans and wildlife, particularly in ecologically fragile ecosystems. With a background spanning conservation science and policy, strategic leadership, and programme management, she has worked across academia, government, and the private sector in Kenya, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.

As Founder of ConserveAbility Pathways Ltd, a Kenyan-based consultancy, Irene partners with conservation organisations to turn broad goals into measurable outcomes, bridging the gap between strategic vision and effective implementation. She advises on programme design, organisational development, and sustainable financing. Irene also serves as a Strategic Advisor to the Kenya Wildlife Trust (KWT), supporting efforts to strengthen conservation impact and institutional sustainability. As former Executive Director of KWT, she led strategy development, deepened partnerships and stakeholder engagement, and oversaw fundraising efforts.

Irene holds a PhD in Landscape Ecology, an MSc in Environmental Assessment & Management, and a BSc in Zoology. She is a Senior Associate of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), an Eisenhower Fellow (2022, Africa Climate Change Programme), and a Women in Environment Africa Fellow (2023). Passionate about natural capital and nature-based solutions, Irene sits on several national and international boards and is also a mentor and facilitator, supporting conservation leadership across Africa.

The Living Earth Alliance

I am from the UK and grew up on the beautiful north Antrim coast in Northern Ireland, where I fell in love with nature. I studied my MSc in Conservation Science at Imperial College London and came to Kenya to volunteer at Ewaso Lions when it was still quite a small project. After this, I was the Managing Director at Save the Rhino International, Asia Programme Manager at Chester Zoo and Conservation Partnership Manager at the Zoological Society of London. Throughout this time, my heart has always been in Samburu, inspired by the important work that the Ewaso Lions team does.

Ewaso Lions is one of the most inspirational organisations and is ahead of its time. I try to use my experience from other projects and cultures, including other human-wildlife coexistence challenges, to support the Ewaso team whenever needed, but I also use the learnings from the team in Samburu to advise how other projects should be truly community-led.

Niassa Carnivore Project

Maico Mauricio Waite was born in Mbamba, in the Niassa Special Reserve (NSR), and five years ago he joined the Niassa Carnivore Project (NCP) NCP team as a Community Assistant. In his role, Maico acts as a link between NCP and local communities, making it easier for everyone to talk and work together on projects that bring direct benefits to the people. He co-leads the conservation performance payment /camera trap programme where he helps to ensure community participation, making sure that conservation activities bring direct benefits and support sustainable development in 12 villages.

At the same time, Maico works closely with the Mozmed team. This is a “Flying Doctors” programme that brings medical help and disease prevention to about 6 villages and 3 areas in NSR. In this programme, he assists the Mozmed doctors and works with programme volunteers to share health messages with communities and connect people to the medical care available. This helps improve the well-being of families in Mbamba village, where the programme also runs.

Niassa Carnivore Project

Ludência da Silva João has been part of the Niassa Carnivore Project (NCP) team in the Niassa Special Reserve (NSR) for nine years, and she now works as the Environmental Education Manager. Throughout her journey, she has worked as a mentor and educator for both children and adults in the Reserve’s communities. She actively promotes biodiversity conservation and encourages coexistence between the people living in the NSR and the large carnivore populations.

In her work, Ludência coordinates and runs several programmes including the school lunch programme, the Lion Scholarships, and environmental awareness programmes that reach more than 1,000 households. These include door-to-door campaigns, talks in schools, and cultural events organised with various partners in the Reserve that encourage “safe behaviours” or ways to live safely with large carnivores, reducing poison and rabies cases. Ludência also leads campaigns against uncontrolled burning, teaching communities about how these fires affect biodiversity and people’s lives. In addition, she supports the Environmental Clubs, where young people explore different ways to promote biodiversity conservation in their villages.

Through the bush visits programme 200 children and teachers come to Mariri Environmental Centre for four night visits every year where they are immersed in conservation education. Her work focuses on helping communities understand why wildlife is important and adopt practices that allow them to live sustainably with wild animals. She uses different methods like theater, children’s books, art and fun activities to get both children and adults involved in learning about protecting nature.

Niassa Carnivore Project

Celestino Dauda was born in Macalange, in the Niassa Special Reserve (NSR). He has worked as the Lead Guardian of the MOMS programme for more than 20 years. Everyone on the team looks up to him as a source of inspiration and wisdom. People often ask for his advice because he understands so well how communities work and how to solve problems effectively. In 2018, his work was recognised internationally when he received the Houston Zoo’s Wildlife Warrior award.

Through the MOMS programme, Dauda coordinates more than 52 guardians across 46 villages in NSR. These guardians regularly collect information about human-wildlife conflict, community fishing activities, sightings of special animal species, and honey collection. Beyond monitoring, Dauda helps communities learn ways to reduce conflict with wildlife, and encourages sustainable fishing practices. He also plays a key role in door-to-door awareness campaigns about rabies prevention, building safe shelters, and preventing uncontrolled fires. They work closely with local authorities and the Reserve’s management. Dauda also helps run the community camera trap programme, which brings money and materials to communities as a way of recognising that wildlife lives on their land.

Niassa Carnivore Project

Samuel was born in Mbamba village and has worked for 12 years with Niassa Carnivore Project (NCP) as a field researcher and conservationist responsible for the daily monitoring of large carnivores – lions, leopards, hyenas, and wild dogs – in L5S concession in Niassa Special Reserve (NSR). Samuel is an expert at using telemetry to track lions, and his deep experience goes beyond just collecting scientific data. He is a key member of the lion collaring operations, done in partnership with the Mozambique Wildlife Alliance. These collars help the NCP team and key partners understand how lions move in the landscape and better focus their efforts to protect these lions and other predators in the Reserve. Samuel also co-leads the Rapid Response Team for Human-Carnivore Conflict, which helps communities in NSR by stepping in with his team during wildlife conflict events and ensuring both people and animals stay safe. In the case of problem carnivores, Samuel ensures that the NCP protocols are followed properly by all parties to avoid creating bad precedents and keep people safe.

As part of his work in community conservation, Samuel takes part in various awareness campaigns and gives talks in villages across the Reserve, working alongside the NCP education team. Through his work, Samuel makes sure that protecting lions and other carnivores doesn’t happen in isolation, but has the support of local communities too.

Niassa Carnivore Project

Agostinho Jorge is the Conservation Director for the Niassa Carnivore Project (NCP) and has worked in the Niassa Special Reserve (NSR) for 20 years. In this leadership role he keeps an eye on the cultures, values and mission of the organisation. In his role, he also supports the teams that monitor and research large carnivores. Whenever possible, he combines local knowledge with traditional scientific methods. Agostinho coordinates the NCP ops room teams in using the SMART and EarthRanger tools in the L5S concession, which is co-managed by NCP and the community of Mbamba through a partnership called Tchova-Tchova.

In this work, he helps with scout training with qualified instructors and supports the well-being of the team. Agostinho also co-advises the community NCP team that directly manages the Tchova Tchova community conservation partnership to get the most community benefits possible from conservation into Mbamba village while honouring both community development and conservation objectives. He also provides support to the MOMS programme, helping the team that leads it to develop strategies that align with NCP’s objectives and also ensures that MOMS has positive impact in all NSR 46 villages where it is implemented.

In the broader area of leadership, Agostinho helps leaders of conservation organisations in Mozambique (including Zinave National Park) and other parts of Africa. Through programmes like the WCN Career Programme and the African Conservation Leadership Network (ACLN)/Maliasili, he supports these leaders in building their skills and their teams to help them fulfill their potential and contribute to the growth of their organisations.

Agostinho’s main interest is finding practical and creative ways to make conservation matter to local communities for the long term by addressing their needs and providing real benefits, especially from the presence of large carnivores, while also making sure these predators and their prey continue to survive in the shared landscape of the Reserve.

Leadership and Management Program

Allan Ward founded Forward Consulting and brings more than 20 years of experience consulting for national and international organizations across Europe, Asia, and Africa. Since 2014, his work has focused on community conservation — training elders, community leaders, and conservation organisation staff to create transformational, real-world impact through leadership and behavioural change. Allan is passionate about adult learning and the journey of helping individuals grow into more of who they truly are.

Leadership and Management Program

Lavias Lekuuk came to training from within the community itself — joining, as a trainee, the LAMP (Leadership and Management Program) in 2021 while he was the youth representative for the Westgate Community Conservancy Board. Now a fully qualified trainer, he works with wildlife rangers, Morans (herders), and community leaders across Kenya. A pastoralist living in a traditional manyatta, he has a deep love for his people and their culture and is committed to helping indigenous communities thrive.

Leadership and Management Program

Over ten years with Forward Consulting, Heiz Wadegu has trained more than 1,500 elders, women, and youth across Kenya’s pastoralist and coastal regions. As a senior trainer for the LAMP (Leadership and Management Program) and the ToT (Training of Trainers) program, he draws on his Kiswahili expertise to make materials accessible to diverse communities. Heiz sees potential in every leader and is passionate about helping them reach it.

National Geographic Explorer | Documentary & Wildlife Photographer/Filmmaker

Peter Ndung’u is a Kenyan National Geographic Explorer whose visual storytelling explores the connections between nature, people, and wildlife across Africa and beyond. After leaving a career in law, he has built an internationally recognised body of work in conservation, cultural heritage, and documentary filmmaking — featured by National Geographic, Apple, CNN, Canon, and The Financial Times.

A Nature, Environment & Wildlife Filmmakers (NEWF) Fellow, African Conservation Voices Fellow, and Jackson Wild Fellow, Peter most recently served as cinematographer on Bugs That Rule the World (PBS) and is currently producing a film with the National Geographic Society’s Impact Story Lab, premiering late 2026.

He is also an active mentor and educator, committed to expanding access to visual storytelling across Africa.

Conservation Photographer, Filmmaker & National Geographic Explorer

Anthony Ochieng Onyango is a Kenyan National Geographic Explorer, wildlife ecologist, and conservation photographer and filmmaker whose work uses visual storytelling to drive conservation awareness and behavior change across Africa. Trained as a wildlife ecologist, he blends scientific research with photography and film to communicate environmental issues across terrestrial and marine ecosystems — with a focus on human–wildlife coexistence, community-led conservation, and ocean narratives.

He is the founder of the TonyWild Foundation (est. 2016), which promotes environmental stewardship among young people through visual ecological literacy, education programs, and conservation media. As an underwater photographer, he also works to reshape African perceptions of marine life, highlighting the ecological importance of sharks, coral reefs, and coastal ecosystems. Anthony’s core mission is to inspire conservation action by changing how people see and relate to nature.