Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders

04/07/2026

One of EWCL’s original board members, Dr. Jackie Ogden, featured in the world of Avatar!

Dr Jackie served as Vice President of Animals, Science and Environment for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, overseeing animal collections and environmental initiatives across the Disney system, as well as Chair of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

From inspiring young conservationists through EWCL to sci-fi enthusiasts on the big screen, her impact is out of this world! We are very proud of Dr Jackie Ogden 👏

If you’ve ridden Avatar Flight of Passage, you’ve probably seen Dr. Jackie Ogden in the pre-show… but she’s not just a fictional scientist 🌿

She’s actually based on the real Dr. Jackie Ogden, who spent 19 years as Walt Disney World’s Vice President of Animals, Science & Environment.

Her real-life work in conservation, animal care, and AZA accreditation helped define the entire mission of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, blending storytelling with real-world wildlife protection.

So when you hear her talking about studying and protecting Pandora’s ecosystem, it’s not just part of the story, it’s a direct reflection of the park’s actual purpose.

A real scientist woven into a fictional world, making Pandora feel just a little more real 🌍✨

03/27/2026

EWCL was well represented at the 2026 Mid-Year Association of Zoos and Aquariums Meeting in Atlanta.

02/04/2026

We are hugely proud of our EWCL alumni Gabriela Ochoa and Justin Grubb (both from class 7), whose dedication, leadership, and passion for conservation was recently recognized by The Explorers Club!

Congratulations on this well deserved award 🎉

Running Wild Media, ilili Honduras

12/24/2025

In the 20 year history of EWCL, the recent gathering in Washington DC was the most eventful, combining the current cohort (class 10)’s 3rd training and graduation (December 9th - 11th) with EWCL’s 20th anniversary summit (December 12th - 13th).

The summit brought together 165+ alumni representing every EWCL class, including Caribbean EWCL, board members, supporters, and external speakers for 2 days to reflect on EWCL’s legacy, uplift each other, and share thoughts on the future of the conservation movement. It was marked by keynote speeches, panel discussions, networking exercises, socializing and merriment, all aimed at expanding conservation knowledge, refining leadership skills, and strengthening professional networks. Among the many highlights of the summit was a special video message from the late Dr. Jane Goodall specifically addressed to the EWCL community, which was filmed shortly before her passing, a moving tribute to EWCL's co-founders Jeff Flocken and Nina Fascione, and keynote interviews with Rhett Butler (Mongabay) and Matt James (Colossal Biosciences) which inspired conversations on optimism and innovation. The summit concluded with a community dinner in a EWCL species-themed ballroom.

We would like to reiterate our special thanks to the donors who made this summit possible: Disney Conservation Fund, Houston Zoo, Wildlife Conservation Network, Humane World for Animals, Jacksonville Zoo and Botanical Gardens, National Geographic Society, Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, ifaw, International Rhino Foundation, Impact by Design, Inc., Defenders of Wildlife and the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.

Also a heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined us, shared your wisdom, and helped make this milestone unforgettable. Here’s to the next 20 years of impact!

More details on the summit can be found this link: https://shorturl.at/KCcbV

We will celebrate class 10’s projects and accomplishments in a later post

12/12/2025

Next up in our 20th anniversary spotlight is Class 9, a cohort of twenty-four up-and-coming conservation leaders from the United States, Ecuador, Indonesia, Mozambique, Rwanda, and Sri Lanka, who took on the threats posed to the world’s most trafficked mammal, the pangolin, hence their nickname “P-EWCL”. Over the course of their program, they implemented the following projects:

🌿 The Pangolins & Traditional Medicine project: Working with WildAid and their local Vietnamese partner, Choice, the team surveyed traditional medicine practitioners’ perceptions around the use of pangolin products. The majority of practitioners expressed concern about pangolin endangerment and the illegality of the products, and showed a willingness to try alternative ingredients. Their findings showed great potential for continued engagement and education to reducing the use of pangolin products in traditional medicine.

🌿 The Pangolin & Illegal Wildlife Trade project, in collaboration with Planet Indonesia and Save Pangolins, this team conducted a literature review on moral and ethical beliefs and perceptions around pangolins. They also developed an educational storybook to shift public perception and published accessible resources to support long-term conservation and awareness efforts.

🌿 The Pangolin Champions project sought to strengthen Save Pangolins’ Champions Program by developing an updated strategy. They conducted a needs assessment and benchmarking of the program, using the findings to create tools and recommendations that address gaps in organizational support, capacity-building, awareness, and network development.

🌿 The Pangolin Monitoring project collaborated with the Tikki Hywood Foundation to address challenges in tracking rehabilitated pangolins. They created a comprehensive best practices guide reviewing tracking methods and developed supporting resources, including protocols and education materials, to build global capacity and consistency in pangolin tracking efforts.

P-EWCL showed how to tackle species conservation from multiple angles, and left partner organizations with powerful tools that will help advance pangolin conservation for years to come. Kudos to P-EWCL!

More about P-EWCL can be found on this link: https://shorturl.at/Dw233

Summary The Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders (EWCL) class nine is comprised of twenty-five participants from U.S.-based institutions, as well as international conservationists from Ecuador, Indonesia, Mozambique, Rwanda, and Sri Lanka. The class has had two in-person training sessions, the fi...

12/11/2025

Today’s spotlight goes to Class 8, affectionately known as “Crash 8”, due to their work focusing exclusively on rhinos (Did you know that a group of rhinos is called a “crash”?). The class was comprised of twenty-five up-and-coming conservation leaders from the United States, Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe. Between 2019 and 2021, this inspirational group implemented the following projects:

🦏 The Black Rhino & White Rhino project partnered with Global Wildlife Conservation (now known as Re:wild) to build a communication and advocacy toolkit to support wildlife rangers, who put their lives on the line every day to protect the Critically Endangered Black Rhino.

🦏 The White Rhino project: worked with United for Wildlife to produce a report on the best practices and technologies used to detect illegal wildlife rhino horn, to help governments, the private sector, and law enforcement agencies choose the most appropriate tools. The team also held workshops with various counter-wildlife trafficking experts and stakeholders.

🦏 The Indonesian Rhino Project, in collaboration with various partners, developed a community-focused toolkit to build pride and awareness among local communities and the public about the conservation of the critically endangered Sumatran rhino, the most critically endangered of all rhino species. The toolkit includes an educational film, a rhino personality quiz, social media content, and materials for a habitat restoration workshop.

🦏 The Greater One‑Horned Rhino project supported rhino habitat management in Manas National Park, India, by producing maps and a technical report to inform grassland restoration. The maps analyzed grassland distribution, habitat changes, and invasive species, and provided examples of best practices for grassland management from around the world.

Crash 8's efforts aligned science, community engagement, and conservation strategy to give rhinos a fighting chance. Here’s to Crash 8!

Find more about the cohort on this link: https://shorturl.at/xhkuk

hashtag

Summary The eighth Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders cohort, affectionately self-named Crash 8, successfully concluded on December 10th, 2021, after an unconventional EWCL experience. The 2019-2021 EWCL class was comprised of twenty-five up-and-coming leaders in the wildlife conservation field....

12/07/2025

Next up in our 20‑year celebration, we are spotlighting the amazing achievements of Class 7! This cohort, made of twenty-four early-career conservation professionals from the United States, Zambia, Rwanda, Kenya, and Honduras, implemented the following projects:

🌿The Grauer’s Gorilla project supported the reintroduction of Grauer’s Gorillas rehabilitated by the Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education (GRACE) Center in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They researched gorilla-appropriate tracking and monitoring technologies and fundraised $13,270 through their virtual “hashtag campaign to support GRACE’s operations.

🌿 The Grizzly Bear project: in partnership with Defenders of Wildlife, this project sought to reduce Grizzly Bear mortality in Northeast Washington State by identifying conflict hotspots and local knowledge gaps, and secured funding for bear conflict mitigation measures, including installing bear-proof food-storage lockers and purchasing bear spray for people in the region.

🌿 The Helmeted Hornbill project: raised funds for and coordinated the training of Plantet Indonesia rangers on the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) technology to be deployed in the helmeted hornbill’s habitat in West Kalimantan. The team also produced three films to be used as outreach and educational tools by Plante Indonesia.

🌿 The North American Amphibians project to address the rapid decline of amphibians in the US and the lack of effective tools to communicate amphibian science to the general public, the team created a website that communicates expert knowledge, data, and conservation actions about the species in a way that is understandable for any audience.

Class 7’s work has helped protect vulnerable species and support human‑wildlife coexistence, and they raised $49,050 in funding, and an additional $11,000 of in-kind support for these initiatives. Many members of this cohort continue to contribute their time and talents to EWCL as guest speakers at EWCL training sessions. Let’s give it up for Class 7!

Find more about the cohort on this link:https://shorturl.at/Y9xV1
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12/04/2025

As we continue to look back on 20 years of EWCL’s powerful legacy, today we are highlighting the Class 6 cohort. These 24 impressive conservation leaders hail from across the United States, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, India, and Malaysia. In 2015 and 2016, they undertook the following hands-on conservation projects, which benefited imperiled wildlife.

🌿The Monarch Butterfly project: With the support of the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund, this project provided grants to support planting milkweed and nectar-producing plants along the monarch butterflies’ central flyway migration route. They also created a web-based tool to increase coordination among entities involved in monarch conservation and recruited cities to commit to monarch conservation by signing the Mayors’ Monarch Pledge.

🌿 The Clouded Leopard project: developed an initiative called “Cameras 4 Conservation (C4C) through which they raised funds to buy trail cameras and to award them to dedicated conservation biologists working with clouded leopards and other rare felid species in Southeast Asia.

🌿 The Giraffe project: worked with Giraffe Conservation Foundation on a media campaign highlighting declines in giraffe populations ahead of the 2016 IUCN up‑listing of giraffe conservation status, and conducted the first-ever international trade assessment for the giraffe.

🌿 The Corals project contributed to WWF’s Climate Crowd project in Belize, a community-driven initiative that partners with local groups to gather climate impact data and support communities in designing and implementing locally led solutions that build resilience for people and nature

Through these actions, class 6 gained invaluable hands-on conservation experience and made a significant impact on their species of focus. They raised $30,600 in direct funding and leveraged in‑kind contributions as well. Let’s give it up for Class 6 🎉🎊🌎

Find more about class 6 here:

Summary Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders’ sixth class graduated in December 2016. The 2015/2016 EWCL class included twenty-four impressive up-and-coming leaders in the wildlife conservation field, with representatives from organizations within the United States, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, India, ...

10/29/2025

In this episode of the Becoming Forces for Nature podcast, Honduran marine biologist and EWCL alum Gaby Ochoa (Class 7), talks about how her organization Ilili Honduras, is putting local communities at the center of decision-making around marine conservation. Check out the episode here: https://forcesfornature.com/podcast/gaby_ochoa/

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𝐎𝐍𝐋𝐘 𝟑 𝐃𝐀𝐘𝐒 𝐋𝐄𝐅𝐓 𝐓𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄! 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐖𝐂𝐋 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝟏𝟏, 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟑𝟏𝐬𝐭, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓. To learn more about the program and apply, please visit: https://wildlifeleaders.org/about/interested-applicants

10/15/2025

Next up in our 20‑year celebration spotlight is Class 5! Between 2013 and 2014, this cohort of 22 rising conservation leaders, from Bolivia, Kenya, and the US, undertook training at the Houston Zoo in Texas, White Oak Conservation in Florida, and Washington, DC, while running the following impactful conservation projects:

🐶 The African Painted Dog project used innovative design to take on two of the biggest causes of mortality to African Painted Dogs, car strikes and snares. The team designed reflective and sturdy collars that make the dogs more visible when crossing roads and prevent suffocation when caught in snares.

🐾 The Giant Armadillo project took advantage of the media attention generated by the 2014 FIFA World Cup armadillo mascot and worked with the Giant Armadillo Project of Brazil to create media and educational materials in English and Portuguese to increase awareness about the species. These materials were distributed through Brazilian and international zoological institutions and conferences.

🐢 The Indian Turtles project, in partnership with the India program, redesigned traditional fish nets and tested their effectiveness in reducing turtle bycatch by local fishermen, avoiding turtle mortality while allowing fishermen to maintain their livelihoods.

⛰️ The Snow Leopard project developed a 64-page environmental education curriculum and designed two one-week eco-camps for middle and high school-aged students in Mongolia to educate them on issues related to snow leopard ecology and conservation.

It’s during Class 5 that the EWCL tradition of paying it forward rose to the next level! For the first time, two EWCL alums, (class 3) and (Class 1), stepped up to the plate to lead sessions in the first training. Class 5 is also one of the most impactful on the EWCL program as a whole, as for the past several years, one of its members, , has served as EWCL’s Executive Director, shaping and driving the strategic vision of the program.

Here’s to Class 5 🎉🎊🌎
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Applications for the EWCL class 11 are currently open. To learn more about the program and apply, please visit: https://wildlifeleaders.org/about/interested-applicants