All Speakers

Speaker Adeline SERCKX
Adeline SERCKX

Strategic Director

The Biodiversity Consultancy Limited

Adeline has more than twelve years’ experience in bio-engineering, specialising in ecology, biodiversity, and conservation biology. With TBC since 2017, she has worked with renewables, oil and…
Speaker Georges HABIB
Georges HABIB

Young Professional Focal Point

IUCN CEESP

Georges is an Engineering Geologist with a strong foundation in Geosciences, currently exploring the intersection of the earth beneath our feet and the energy systems shaping our future. With a…
Speaker Ksenia Chernaya Scanlon
Ksenia Chernaya Scanlon

Chief, Communications, External Relations and Partnerships

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)

Xenya Scanlon is the Chief of Communications, External Relations and Partnerships at the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). She brings 20 years of experience on…
Speaker Luigi BOITANI
Luigi BOITANI

Professor of Conservation Biology

IUCN Species Survival Commission 2021-2025

Luigi Boitani is the Chair of the IUCN SSC Large Carnivore Initiative for Europe. Luigi is Professor Emeritus at the University of Rome - Sapienza, where he has been teaching Animal Ecology and…
Speaker Sidney JANG
Sidney JANG

Festival Programmer

Seoul International Eco Film Festival

More than 20 year career in film festivals and cultural events including environmental film festivals and Yeosu Expo. Now, programmer of Seoul Int'l Eco Film Festival and Blue Planet Future…
Speaker Xiaoying Wang
Xiaoying Wang

Secretary-General

Ant Forest Foundation

Xiaoying WangDirector of Sustainable Development, Ant Group Secretary-General, Ant Forest Ecological Green Development Foundation EducationMaster of Business Administration, BI Norwegian…
Speaker Heloise HEYER
Heloise HEYER

Conflict Sensitivity Lead

PeaceNexus Foundation

Heloise Heyer brings over 15 years of experience at the intersection of peacebuilding, international cooperation, and organisational development. She works with civil society, governments, and…
Speaker Jordan REEVES
Jordan REEVES

Program Director, Landscape Connectivity

Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative Foundation

Jordan leads the Landscape Connectivity Program through deep collaboration with Y2Y’s talented staff, sovereign First Nations and Tribes, rural communities, government agencies, and a breadth of…
Speaker Carlos del Ángel ESTRADA MARCOS
Carlos del Ángel ESTRADA MARCOS

Ciencias de la Tierra

IUCN Commission on Education and Communication 2021-2025

Regional Vice President Mesoamerica of the Education and Communication Commission (CEC) I am a graduate of the University of Sciences and Arts of Chiapas with a degree in Earth Sciences, I…
Speaker Angus MIDDLETON
Angus MIDDLETON

Executive Director

Namibia Nature Foundation

Angus Middleton is the Executive Director of the Namibia Nature Foundation (NNF). With 25 years in senior leadership, he has spent the last 15 years guiding NGOs through complex change to sharpen…
Speaker Peter James STEPHENSON
Peter James STEPHENSON

Chair, IUCN SSC Species Monitoring SG

IUCN SSC Species Monitoring Specialist Group

PJ is an independent conservation consultant based in Switzerland. He has been involved in species research and conservation for over 30 years. His monitoring-related work started in 1985-6 when he…
Speaker Martin Vaillancourt
Martin Vaillancourt

Directeur général

RNCREQ

Director General of the RNCREQ, a network of 230 sustainable development specialists working across Québec. Mr. Vaillancourt is interested in the sustainable development of territories, both from the…
Speaker Alex Hai ZHANG
Alex Hai ZHANG

Secretary General

Eco Foundation Global

Speaker Willem FERWERDA
Willem FERWERDA

Founder

Commonland

 Willem Ferwerda studied biology, tropical ecology and agriculture at the University of Amsterdam and Universidad Nacional Colombia. In Colombia he lived and worked with poor farmers on the…
Speaker Juan Carlos NAVARRO
Juan Carlos NAVARRO

Ministro de Medio Ambiente

Panama

BA in Geography and Government, Dartmouth College; Master's in Public Administration, Harvard University. 1985, Member of the Board of Trustees and Founding Director, Ancon Foundation, an…
Speaker Jes LEFCOURT
Jes LEFCOURT

Senior Director, Conservation Technology

Ai2 / EarthRanger

Speaker Ena Lucia Suarez BOLANOS
Ena Lucia Suarez BOLANOS

Project officer

IUCN

Speaker Genny NGENDE
Genny NGENDE

Africa Program Senior Campaign Coordinator

International Rivers

Genny serves as the Senior Campaign Coordinator for the Africa Program at International Rivers. In this role, she collaborates with partners and communities in Namibia, Guinea Conakry, and the…
Speaker Sheherazade SHEHERAZADE
Sheherazade SHEHERAZADE

Co-Executive Director

PROGRES

I am the Co-Director of PROGRES, a conservation NGO based on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, my home. We combine knowledge-based and people-centered approaches to build a network of empowered…
Speaker Achim STEINER
Achim STEINER
Achim Steiner is a recognised leader in sustainable development, environmental policy and climate policy. He served as Director General of IUCN from 2001-2006. Since then he has led several…
Speaker Russell GALT
Russell GALT

Principal

Nature Broking

Russell is Head of Science & Natural Capital at Nature Broking, a specialist intermediary dedicated to financing nature’s recovery. He is a member of IUCN’s Commission on Ecosystem Management,…
Speaker Rachel CLAUSING
Rachel CLAUSING

Fondation Prince Albert II de Monaco

Rachel Clausing is the Special Advisor to the Vice President and the Head of Initiatives at the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation. A marine scientist by training, she earned her doctorate from…
Speaker Ishana THAPA
Ishana THAPA

CEO

Bird Conservation Nepal

Ishana Thapa is the CEO of Bird Conservation Nepal (BCN), leading the organization in its mission to conserve bird and biodiversity in Nepal. With a strong background in Zoology and environmental…
Speaker JOSEPH PIERRE CLAUDE GASCON
JOSEPH PIERRE CLAUDE GASCON

DIRECTOR

Global Environment Facility

Dr. Claude Gascon is Director of Strategy and Operations at the Global Environment Facility (GEF).   In this capacity Dr. Gascon leads the development of strategic planning, programming,…
Speaker Toby GIFFORD
Toby GIFFORD

Lecturer

University of the Sunshine Coast

Dr. Toby Gifford is an interdisciplinary design researcher, working at the intersection of art, science and technology. He specialises in the interdisciplinary study of sound and digital art.…
Speaker Qiulin LIU
Qiulin LIU

Programme Coordination Officer - Climate Change

IUCN

After obtaining a PhD in Hydraulic Engineering from Tsinghua University (China) in 2016, Qiulin started her career in National Marine Data and Information Service, Ministry of Natural Resources of…
Speaker Eden SCHMITT
Eden SCHMITT

Business and Biodiversity Officer

IUCN French Committee

Speaker Tinne VAN DER STRAETEN
Tinne VAN DER STRAETEN

Member of Parliament

Belgian Federal Parliament

Tinne Van der Straeten is a member of the Belgian Federal Parliament. She served as Federal Energy Minister between October 2020 and January 2025.  During her term, she accelerated the energy…