All Speakers

Lama SALEH

Programme Development and Partnerships Director

Goumbook

Lama has been leading several impactful education and awareness programmes at Goumbook, including the Take a Breath initiative that focuses on improving indoor air quality in the UAE and…

Lina OSMAN

Head, Sustainable Finance - Middle East, Africa & Pakistan

Standard Chartered Bank

Lina is the Regional Head of Sustainable Finance, Middle East, Africa and Pakistan at Standard Chartered Bank. She has over 19 years of banking experience across Sustainable Finance, Corporate…

Anne MEADEB

Directrice

Play for Nature

Anne Meadeb has been leading the endowment fund Play for Nature since early 2025. She holds an MBA in Management and Business Administration from the Sorbonne and first built her career as an…

Damien MITTEMPERGHER

Economist

IUCN

Damien Mittempergher is an economist passionate about building stronger links between nature and the economy. At IUCN, he supports various stakeholders to better account for natural capital, using…

Linda KRUEGER

Director, Biodiversity & Infrastructure Policy

The Nature Conservancy

Linda Krueger is Director of Biodiversity & Infrastructure Policy at The Nature Conservancy, where she is responsible for promoting policies related to implementation of global biodiversity…

Helen CROWLEY

Global Advisor

Nature Positive Landscapes Initiative

Martin KELLER BOCK

Presidente Junta Directiva y Representante Legal

Asociación de Reservas Naturales Privadas de Guatemala

President of the Association of Private Natural Reserves of Guatemala -ARNPG- since 2010. Experience in environmental issues and administration since 1995. Owner and Manager Cafeco, Administrator…

John EWEN

Professor

Zoological Society of London

Professor John Ewen is a conservation scientist in ZSL’s Institute of Zoology, leading a research group focussed on species recovery including conservation translocations. He has published more…

Philip FRANKS

Principal Researcher | Biodiversity

International Institute for Environment and Development

Email: phil.franks@iied.orgPhil Franks is an expert on the social dimension of natural resource management and conservation, with a particular focus on better understanding and applying…

William RIDGEON

Senior Producer / Director

BBC Studios, Natural History Unit

Will is an award-winning Senior producer and director, at the BBC’s Natural History Unit – producing a wide range of natural history series and specialising in creating landmark, blue-chip films. As…

Angela Andrade

Chair IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management

IUCN

Commission Chair. Anthropologist specialized in Human Geography and Land Evaluation, with an MSc in Land Ecology from ITC – University of Twente, the Netherlands. She brings more than 30 years…

Ghada AHMADEIN

Program Manager

RAED - Arab Network for Environment and Development

Ms. Ghada Ahmadein is a communication and networking specialist with experience and professional practice of over 18 years in dealing with civil society organizations, international and regional…

Cristi Marie NOZAWA

Executive Director

The Samdhana Institute

Cristi Marie C Nozawa Cristi joined Birdlife International in mid-1998 initially as partner development officer focusing on capacity building, institutional and network development; eventually…

Duko HOPMAN

Executive Director

Rob Walton Foundation

Duko Hopman Executive Director, Rob Walton FoundationDuko joined the Rob Walton Foundation in February 2025 after more than a decade at McKinsey & Company, where he co-founded and co-led the…

Jes LEFCOURT

Senior Director, Conservation Technology

Ai2 / EarthRanger

Beatriz BARROS AYDOS

IUCN Secretariat

Biologist specialized in Protected Natural Areas (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 2019). Currently Program Officer for Brazil at the International Union for Conservation of Nature – South America (…

Roman JASHENKO

President

Tethys Scientific Society

Director General of Institute of Zoology CS MSHE Republic of Kazakhstan, Chairman of the Kazakhstan National Committee for the UNESCO Program “Man and the Biosphere” (MAB), adviser of the UNESCO…

Chelsea HUNTER

Assistant Professor

University of North Texas

Chelsea Hunter (she/her) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of North Texas and an environmental anthropologist. Her research interests largely center around…

Sonam WANGDI

Chief of Division

Nature Conservation Division

Mr. Sonam Wangdi currently works as the Chief of the Nature Conservation Division under the Department of Forests and Park Services of the Royal Government of Bhutan. As the Chief of this Division,…

Bernal HERRERA-FERNÁNDEZ

Professor

National University

Vice Chair for Latin America and the Caribbean. Dr. Bernal Herrera-Fernández is an Associate Professor at the International Institute for Wildlife Conservation and Management, National…

Kongjian YU

Professor

Peking University

A farmer’s son and Doctor of Design from Harvard, Yu is a professor and dean of Peking University College of Architecture and Landscape, and founded Turenscape and the Landscape Architecture…

Piet THERON

Senior Director: Conservation Strategy & Development - Southern Africa

Conservation International

Piet Theron (B Landscape Architecture, MPhil Environmental Science) is a Landscape Architect working in the environmental planning and management field. He has more than 28 years’ experience working…

Kimathi Norah

Co-founder

Zerobionic

Norah Kimathi is a 22-year-old multi-award-winning entrepreneur whose ventures in assistive robotics, climate innovation, and inclusive education are reshaping the future of Africa’s innovation…

Arabella WILLING

Head of Conservation Outreach

Emirates Nature-WWF

Arabella heads up the Conservation Outreach & Citizen Science team at Emirates Nature-WWF, the local environmental charity that works in association with WWF, the global conservation organization…

Geert Jan HEUSINKVELD

Sustainability Manager

Volcafe / Kyagalanyi Coffee Uganda

Geert Jan Heusinkveld is the Sustainability Manager at Kyagalanyi Coffee Ltd, Uganda’s leading coffee exporter and a key member of the Swiss based Volcafe group. With a strong foundation in…

Yamide Dagnet

SVP International

Natural Resources Defense Council

Luca CHINOTTI

Manager, Conservation Policy Development

World Wide Fund For Nature International - WWF

Luca Chinotti is a Manager in Conservation Policy Development at WWF.Prior to joining WWF, he worked at the International Land Coalition (ILC) as Global Policy Advisor and at Oxfam International as…

Karen PODVIN

IUCN Secretariat

Karen is Ecuadorian; she has a BSc in Applied Ecology from the Universidad San Francisco de Quito (2007); a Specialization in Climate Change from the Simón Bolívar Andean University (2011); and an…