Executive Director & Founder
mike.skuja@conservationforpeople.org

Mike Skuja is a human geographer with broad experience in wildlife conservation, sustainable development, poverty alleviation, climate change analysis, and rural livelihoods diversification strategies. He has lived and worked in the Caribbean, Central America, East Africa, South Asia and Europe. Mike has analyzed social and environmental problems from both grassroots and policy angles, having worked at the United Nations Environment Programme-World Conservation and Monitoring Centre, National Geographic Society, the Nature Conservancy, Defenders of Wildlife, Gads Hill Community Development Center, and the Peace Corps (Panama).

Some of Mike Skuja’s past experiences include efforts towards reducing human-lion conflict in Tanzania, facilitating alternative protein sources and eco-tourism ventures in Panama, marine policy analysis, and reconciling reconstruction efforts with environmental imperatives post-Tsunami in Sri Lanka. He has both marine and terrestrial experience and utilizes his expertise in facilitating projects which span the coast of Guyana to the dry lands of Tanzania. Mike has undergraduate degrees in Zoology and Geography from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MSc in Biodiversity, Conservation, and Management from the University of Oxford. He speaks fluent Spanish and is proficient in both Swahili and Portuguese.  Mike is also a professor at George Washington University’s International Development Studies Master’s program, where he teaches a course on Rural Development, Human Rights, and Biodiversity.

Leonard Akwany
Project Manager – Kenya

Akwany Leonard Omondi is a Kenyan national born in Kisumu, Western Kenya. He has a long and successful history of work with local communities in his native country, having worked as both a project manager and adviser on numerous sustainable alternative livelihoods and conservation initiatives for the Papyrus Wetlands of Lake Victoria.

Leonard’s diverse career has included conducting participatory rural appraisals for various communities such as Dunga, Kisumu District, Yala, Siaya District and Piave Farm, Nakuru District. He also works in the Sauri Village towards meeting sustainable development goals under the United Nations Millenium Villages Project. Additionally, he is an accomplished theater practitioner with over 10 years experience in pro poor communication development through a popular African educational theater.

Leonard holds a BSc in Natural Resources Management from Egerton University, Kenya and is finishing up his Msc in Environmental Sciences, Policy and Management at Manchester University, UK. Recently he was awarded the prestigious First Pan-African Entrepreneurship Award for his work on poverty alleviation by Educating Africa and Teach A Man To Fish, UK.

He is passionate, enthusiastic and committed to working on interactions between society, economy and ecosystems to realize the dual objective of conservation and poverty alleviation amongst grassroots communities.

Michelle Kalamandeen
Project Manager – Guyana

Michelle Kalamandeen is a Guyanese conservationist from Georgetown, Guyana. Michelle has a background strongly focused on social justice, ethical implications of conservation actions, and empowerment of women and other disadvantaged groups in her home country. She assisted in the establishment of a Community Conservation Area in Waini, Region 1 in collaboration with Ministry of Amerindian Affairs and has also trained Wai-Wai Amerindians and nearly 100 other indigenous community members in decion-making tools for engaging in protected area management.

Ms. Kalamandeen’s illustrious work experience includes her current role as a Scientific Officer for the Centre for the Study of Biological Diversity, University of Guyana and her position as Project Coordintor and Community Facilitator for the Guyana Marine Turtle Conservation Society. This work is heavily focused on community-based enterprise opportunities and alternative income projects, in addition to being responsible for the sea turtle monitoring program. When she is not working with fishermen to reduce incidental by-catch or coordinating education initiatives, Michelle also works as a technical assistant for the Guyana Human Rights Association.

Michelle holds a Bsc (distinction) in Biology from the University of Guyana and an Msc in Biodiversity, Conservation, and Management from the University of Oxford and has an extensive history of journal publications.

Dr. Bernard Kissui
Project Manager – Tanzania

Dr. Bernard Kissui is a native of Tanzania and has extensive research experience in ecological and behavioral studies of the African lion. Bernard also has experience in working with local communities. His current research in the Maasai steppe focuses on understanding the causes, patterns and impacts of human-lion conflicts related to livestock predation in pastoral communities and on the lion population as a whole. Bernard has been working with these communities to identify and implement management options for conflict mitigation.

Dr. Kissui also works as a research scientist with the African Wildlife Foundation overseeing lion research in the Maasai steppe heartland. He has studied Ngorongoro crater lion population dynamics and factors limiting population growth. He has also contributed to lion studies in Serengeti National Park. Additionally, Bernard has participated in a collaborative group that is working on developing sustainable human-natural systems, focusing on the Greater Serengeti Ecosystem as a case study.

Bernard received his PhD in Ecology, Evolution and Behavior from the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Jo Marie V. Acebes
Project Manager – Philippines

Dr. Jo Marie V. Acebes, ‘Jom’, is a Philippine national born and raised in the city of Marikina. Jom has extensive experience working with local people in the Babuyan Islands, having first started her work in the area back in November of 2000.

Her background in marine conservation and local stakeholder involvement is extensive, having worked as Project Manager for WWF-Philippines Humpback Whale Research and Conservation Project, a Faunal Research Project Coordinator for the Northern Sierra Madre National Park Conservation and Development Project, a Visiting Scientist for SeaLifeBase Project, WorldFish Center, a Project Leader for the Cetacean Research and Conservation Project, and a research team member of the History of Marine Animal Populations Asia project.

She has represented non-profit organizations at both local and national levels and has a passion for training local environmental leaders, having conducted and coordinated on-the-job trainings for local staff and partners to enhance local capacity for faunal research.

Jom has also assisted in the coordination of group educational tours for a non-profit group called FPE3: Fostering People’s Education, Empowerment and Enterprise. Jom has an MSc in Biodiversity, Conservation and Management from the University of Oxford, a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of the Philippines, Los Banos, Laguna, and a BSc in Biology from the Ateneo de Manila.

Upali Mallikarachchi

Project Manager-Sri Lanka

Upali Mallikarachchi is a Sri Lankan national born in the city of Kegalle. After a first degree in Biology, he obtained a Masters degree from the University of Ruhuna studying algal distribution on the southwest coast of Sri Lanka with a focus on anthropogenic effects. Upali also holds a certificate in environmental journalism. With over 10 years of experience working with coastal communities in Sri Lanka, Upali has expertise in both project management and research. His work has focused on alternative livelihoods and Special Area Management Plans.

As a Monitoring and Evaluation Officer in a Post-tsunami Rehabilitation and Resource Management Project with the Ministry of Fisheries, Upali has engaged in post-disaster natural resource planning work and is a member of a regional IUCN group focused on enhancing and diversifying livelihoods.  In addition to the above-mentioned work, Upali brings a keen passion for the marine environment, governance, and poverty constraints in coastal Sri Lankan communities. His work with CREE on climate change and coral reef conservation helps bring together these passions.

Stella Asaha
Project Manager – Cameroon

Stella Asha is a Cameroonian national from the Anglophone part of the country. She holds a B.Sc. (Hons) in Botany from the University of Calabar Nigeria. In the past she has held a variety of positions with different organizations, including being a Research Assistant at the Limbe Botanic Gardens. Ms. Asha has also held the post of Social Research Officer with the African Rattan Research Programme, a Department for International Development funded project which ran for four years in Cameroon, Nigeria and Ghana. This background in both the natural and social sciences aids Stella in engaging the diversity of stakeholders that she must for her work.

In 2004, her work with the African Rattan Research Programme progressed into the formation of her present organization, ‘Forests, Resources, and People’. She is currently the coordinator of Forests, Resources, and People, as well as the head of the social development activities for the organization. Her work currently takes her to villages and rural areas in collaboration with other organizations such as the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Center for International Forestry Research.

Tata Yengo
Project Assistant-Cameroon

Tata Yengo is a Cameroonian national from the northwest region of the country. He holds a B.Sc (Honors) in Environmental Science from the University of Buea in Cameroon and also an Agroforestry Certificate from the ‘Trees for the Future’ Agro-forestry training program in Maryland, USA.

Previously Tata worked as a volunteer with the Fako tourism board as a tour guide.  With FOREP he has conducted socio-economic surveys and bushmeat surveys since 2008.  Having now joined CREE,  Tata is responsible for all field work for CREE’s Cameroon project, and is now in the process of implementing the snail project in the Mapanja village.  This area has been particularly affected by the proposed Mount Cameroon National Park.

Ellen Kalmbach
Research Assistant – Cameroon

Ellen Kalmbach is a biologist with a growing interest in international development. After her first degree in biology, she received a PhD in zoology from the University of Glasgow. Subsequently she worked at research institutes in both the Netherlands and Germany. Her research on avian behavior and ecology involved long periods of fieldwork in rural settings in countries in Europe and South America.

An increasing interest in global distributive justice led her to take an Msc in International Development, with a focus on environment and development. For this Msc dissertation she undertook qualitative research on Fair Trade pineapple farming in Ghana. Ellen’s work with Stella on the snail farming project on Mount Cameroon gives her an opportunity to interact and work directly with local communities in order to evaluate how to best execute this project with local support.

Chad Frischmann
Public Relations Officer

Chad Frischmann leads CREE’s publications and public relations efforts from San Francisco and specializes in non-profit project management. He has a wide range of experience with various associations, most recently as the Programme and Publications Manager for The Europaeum, an association of leading European universities based in Oxford, UK; and Project Consultant and Member of the Steering Committee for a UK-funded project on Tackling Extremism through the Arts. He has a wealth of experience in all areas of non-profit management, from communications and fundraising to event coordination and publication design. After returning from an excursion in southeast Africa, Chad become passionate about helping rural communities like the ones he visited firsthand whilst abroad. This is what drew him to CREE.

Chad holds B.A. degrees (summa cum laude) in International Affairs and History from George Washington University, and an M.St. in the History of Art and Visual Culture from the University of Oxford. He has taught art history at Hertford College, Oxford, conducted research into the history of imperial propaganda, and been a representative on several academic committees in Oxford. He is Co-Founder of New Dawn Enterprises, Oxford, a community-based charity promoting social cohesion through art, music, and education. Chad also works on grant research for Seacology, where he combines his passions for communities and conservation.

Alison Anastasio

Development Officer
Alison Anastasio is a scientist trained in ecology and evolutionary biology.  She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 2009 studying the genetic basis of adaptation in plants.  Alison has performed field research in Australia, New Zealand, Botswana, Sweden, northwest Washington, and the Midwest US, and is familiar with subarctic, arid, marine, high latitude, agricultural and urban ecosystems.

She has spent the last five years  successfully writing grants to secure funding for her own research, collaborating with local scientists,  presenting her results at international symposia and meetings, participating in outreach programs around Chicago and abroad, and hiking in the Indiana Dunes.  Alison came to CREE because she believes it is an organization with real vision for community development. Alison brings to CREE her shrewd analytical and copy editing skills, premier google sleuthing abilities, experience with rigorous scientific inquiry, and knowledge of the funding process.

Scientific Advisory Committee

At CREE, all of work rests upon solid scientific analyses.  Recognizing the geographic and topical diversity inherent in our global work, we seek the counsel of the best scientific minds in the natural and social science realms to guide the direction and validity of our approaches.

Tom Lovejoy

Dr. Tom Lovejoy assumed the position of Heinz Center Biodiversity Chair in August 2008.  Previously he served as President of the Heinz Center since May 2002. Before coming to The Heinz Center, Tom was the World Bank’s Chief Biodiversity Advisor and Lead Specialist for Environment for Latin America and the Caribbean.  He was also Senior Advisor to the President of the United Nations Foundation. Dr. Lovejoy has been Assistant Secretary and Counselor to the Secretary at the Smithsonian Institution, Science Advisor to the Secretary of the Interior, and Executive Vice President of the World Wildlife Fund–U.S.

Tom Lovejoy conceived the idea for the Minimum Critical Size of Ecosystems project (a joint project between the Smithsonian and Brazil’s INPA), originated the concept of debt-for-nature swaps, and is the founder of the public television series Nature. Dr. Lovejoy also introduced the term biological diversity to the scientific community in 1980.  In 2001 he was awarded the prestigious Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement and the 2008 Fundacion BBVA Frontiers of Knowledge Prize in Ecology and Conservation Biology . Dr. Lovejoy served on science and environmental councils or committees under the Reagan, Bush, and Clinton administrations. Tom received his B. S. and Ph.D. (Biology) degrees from Yale University. Tom decided to get involved with the CREE due because of its unusual on the ground approach to sustainable development.

Wade Davis

Dr. Wade Davis is an Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society. Named by NGS as one of the explorers for the Milennium, Wade’s work has taken him to Borneo, Nepal, Peru, East Africa, Haiti, Tibet, Mali, Benin, Togo, New Guinea, Australia, and the high Arctic, among other places. An ethnographer, writer, photographer, and filmmaker, Davis holds degrees in Anthropology and Biology and received his PhD in ethnobotany from Harvard University. Davis has spent over three years in the Amazon and Andes as a plant explorer, living among 15 indigenous groups from 8 nations in Latin America.

Davis is the recipient of numerous awards including the Gold Medal of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (2009) and the 2002 Lannon Foundation prize for literary non-fiction.  A native of British Columbia, Davis is a licensed river guide and has also worked as a park ranger and forestry engineer. He has published 165 scientific and popular articles on topics ranging from ethnobotany to the global biodiversity crisis. His photographs have appeared in some 20 books and 80 magazines from National Geographic to Time.  A professional speaker for almost 20 years, Davis has lectured at the American Museum of Natural History, the Smithsonian Institution,  the California Academy of Sciences, and the Royal Geographic Society to name a few.  Wade joined CREE due to his interest in cultural survival and indigenous management of natural resources. CREE is fortunate to have his anthropological expertise to draw upon in its work towards village-led sustainability solutions.

Dan Brockington

Dr. Dan Brockington is a social scientist who studies the work of conservation organizations, the social impacts of protected areas, interactions of capitalism and conservation, the role of the celebrity in environmental affairs, and the interaction of conservation and poverty. Dan’s research has centered around decentralized natural resource management, local government and environmental change in dryland ecosystems, predominately in East Africa.

Dan has been one of the most influential critics of environmental conservation and its effects on human communities and their livelihoods to date. As such, Dan has helped shape the practice of conservation through analyses of the enviromental movement’s successes and failures working in communities.

Dan studied Geography at the University of Oxford and Anthropology at University College London, where he took his PhD. He also held a British Academy funded post-doctoral fellowship research fellowship at Cambridge and had lectureships at the University of Oxford before joining the University of Manchester’s Institute for Development, Policy, and Management as a Senior Lecturer. Dr. Brockington has worked in Tanzania, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, South Africa, India, and Australia. Dan helps CREE analyze how culturally appropriate its community work is and also the effects of our initiatives on communities’ livelihoods.

Kristian Teleki

Kristian Teleki currently serves as the Vice President of Science Initiatives for SeaWeb, a communications-based organization that focuses on ocean conservation by raising public awareness, advancing science-based solutions and mobilizing decision-makers around ocean conservation.  As part of his role at SeaWeb Kristian works closely with marine scientists, journalists, business leaders and decision-makers and key partners to bring new marine and coastal scientific developments to light in a way that can influence policy, corporate and public sectors.

For the last decade Kristian has been the Director of the International Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN), which is a unique global partnership dedicated to addressing the serious decline in the health of the world’s coral reefs.  During his tenure Kristian had oversight for more than 40 coral reef projects in 35 countries which covered seven coral reef regions.  Project activities ranged from livelihood diversification and resource management to the prevention and mitigation of ecological degradation of coral reefs through management, monitoring and public awareness actions.  In addition to his ICRAN duties Kristian established and led the One Ocean Programme at the United Nations Environment Programme’s World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC).  This programme was designed to reflect the interconnected nature of the world’s oceans and coastlines, and the rich and varied biodiversity it supports, and the reliance which all humans have on the resources and services of the sea.

Kristian has an extensive and diverse background in marine science, conservation and field experience which extends from the polar to tropical environments. He is particularly interested in the relationship which humans have with the sea and promoting the sustainable use of its resources.  Kristian has degrees from the University of California, Santa Barbara (summa cum laude) and Cambridge University (with distinction), and he has published reports and articles on the impact of climate change on the tropical marine environment, and regularly participates and contributes to global and regional conservation and environment policy meetings and fora.Kristian is on the Editorial Board of Aquatic Conservation, is a member of the Resource Users Group for the European Ocean Acidification Project (EOPOCA), and is a steering committee member of the Global Islands Partnership and the Global Forum on Oceans, Coasts, and Islands.  Kristian now also serves as a Board member of ICRAN.

Board of Directors

Kristian Teleki (see above biography)

Sian Owen

Canadian by birth, Sian Owen’s vision for a world of equal opportunity and wise resource use is rooted in eight formative years spent growing up in Indonesia. With an undergraduate degree in Economics from Queen’s University in Ontario and a Master’s degree in Development Studies from the University of London, Sian headed back to Southeast Asia in the early ’90′s looking to make a difference. Sian’s career started with several years experience in national and regional media and marketing research, first in Vietnam and then in the Netherlands.

F0llowing a period of consulting in the environmental sector, Sian took on a full-time position with the World Wildlife Fund leading a new three year Coral Reefs Advocacy Initiative for the Global Marine Program. This was the first in a series of program development roles, which included the conception and realization of the People and Nature Initiative, focused on the integration of marine conservation initiatives into national development planning.  From 2007 Sian took the lead on policy and partnerships for WWF’s Coral Triangle Initiative. With the launch of her own consulting firm, Sustainability Options consulting, Sian has continued to work for the triple bottom line of People, Profit, and Planet.  Sian joined CREE because of its entrepreneurial spirit of innovation for the natural world.

Robert Lindsley
Robert Lindsley is currently an advanced doctoral student at Harvard University in the Human Development and Education program. In this capacity Robert has conducted research on children’s development in adverse contexts both domestically and abroad, using a wide range of methodologies; qualitative, quantitative, and participatory in nature. Integrating findings and approaches from across psychology, anthropology, and educational research, Robert has been able to apply his training thus far on a wide number of projects serving communities as diverse as ex-child combatants in Sierra Leone to camp-based refugees on the Thai-Burmese border. In particular Robert is developing experience with integrated community-based approaches to psychosocial programming that draw upon local knowledge and the participation of community members in project design, implementation and evaluation.

In addition to his research, Robert is a Senior Programme Officer for Psychosocial Programming at World Education, Inc.’s home office in Boston, MA. In this position, Robert provides technical assistance on the design and evaluation of psychosocial programming across the agency’s divisions. Specifically this targets children and families made vulnerable by conflict, disease, and natural disaster. Robert is also part of a staff training and professional development initiative seeking to raise awareness of innovative training techniques and child protection issues in the aid and development community. Robert holds a Masters degree in Mind, Brain, and Education from Harvard University and a Bachelors degree in Biopsychology from Tufts University.

James Fountain
James Fountain is a human-environment geographer and avid mountaineer from Montana. He has extensive experience in both the technical and human aspects of conservation and development, having worked for the National Geographic Society, the Forest Service, the United States Environmental Protection Agency and MONUC, the United Nations’ Department of Peace Keeping Operations branch in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

James’ past research has taken him to the Himalayas where he researched how traditional ecological knowledge can add to mitigation methods of Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) in the Karakoram and Himalayan mountain ranges. Here he led a team on a community-based hazard mapping project using participatory research mapping. The research explored how effectively mountain development organizations and other cultural conservation NGOs represent their message to government officials and developers who have to weigh humanitarian concerns against environmental imperatives that may have long-term affects on the mountain peoples’ lives. James recently returned from the Democratic Republic of the Congo where he worked as a project manager for the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations in the Ituri District.

Simeon Stairs

Simeon grew up on a farm in Québec during the rise of the modern environmental movement, and has found himself somewhere near the intersection of rural livelihood and nature conservation ever since. He has worked on environment-development matters in a range of contexts, including a government agency, non-governmental organization, academia and private consultancy. An interdisciplinarian by training as well as inclination, Simeon holds degrees in Geography and Environmental Studies from McGill University and the University of Toronto, as well as a doctorate in Land Resources from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He currently lives in Chicago.

Simeon’s doctoral work consisted of a cross-scale, historical analysis of the encounter between conservation practice and ‘development’ thinking. A major outcome of this work was the identification of an important silence in contemporary conservation-development practice: the empowerment of the rural people who live in landscapes targeted by conservation schemes. Simeon is keen to support initiatives that address this silence directly, and this is what has led him to CREE.