All Speakers

Speaker Marco Vinicio CEREZO
Marco Vinicio CEREZO

General Director

FUNDAECO

Speaker ROWELY YEN PARICO
ROWELY YEN PARICO

Executive Officer

IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas

Yen Parico is currently serving as the Temporary Executive Officer of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA). A firm believer in the power of young people to shape a better future for…
Speaker Magda ZACHARA
Magda ZACHARA

Programme Officer

IUCN

Magda Zachara is an educator and advocate for nature conservation with a strong scientific background. She holds a Master’s degree in Biochemistry from the University of Geneva and a PhD in Molecular…
Speaker karima HAGUI
karima HAGUI

Secretary General of Ministry of Environment of Tunisia

ministère de l'environnemet

Karima Haggui has over 15‑20 years of experience in public financial oversight and environmental administration. As Contrôleur des Dépenses Publiques, she oversaw the legality, conformity, and…
Speaker Chris GALLIERS
Chris GALLIERS

President International Ranger Federation and Past Chairman Game Rangers Associa

International Ranger Federation

Chris has close on 20 years of conservation experience. Chris is a member of the Game Rangers Association of Africa, an organisation he chaired for 6 years. He was also elected as the Africa…
Speaker Melissa LEACH
Melissa LEACH

Executive Director

Cambridge Conservation Initiative

Melissa Leach is Executive Director of the Cambridge Conservation initiative (CCI), a collaboration between ten world-leading nature and biodiversity organisations with the University of Cambridge,…
Speaker Simba MANDOTA
Simba MANDOTA

Team Leader/ Acting Country Representative

IUCN Secretariat

Simba currently holds the position of Team Leader for the IKI funded CBA SCALE southern Africa+ project, where he has demonstrated exceptional leadership skills and a deep understanding of the unique…
Speaker Nirmal SHAH
Nirmal SHAH

Chief Executive

Nature Seychelles

Dr. Shah is a Seychellois fisheries, environmental and sustainable development expert with 43 years of experience in public, governmental, private and NGO sectors. He has also worked for IUCN and…
Speaker Pedro LIRA
Pedro LIRA

Natureza Urbana

Founding partner of Natureza Urbana. Architect and Urban Planner, studied at the Polytechnic of Milan (Italy), graduated from the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE-Brazil) and has an Advanced…
Speaker Jacinta ABALAKA
Jacinta ABALAKA

National Programme Coordinator

Society for Sustainability and Conservation Education for Rural Areas (SCERA)

Jacinta Abalaka is a conservation biologist with over 20 years experience in capacity building in conservation and ecology, and 10 years experience in grant and resource management. She has worked…
Speaker Eunha CHOI
Eunha CHOI

ranger

korea national park service

Speaker Nathan CARDINAL
Nathan CARDINAL

Director, Indigenous Policy

Parks Canada

Nathan Cardinal is a member of the Métis Nation and comes from a line of trappers who stewarded their lands in northern Alberta, Canada. He is the director of Indigenous Policy for Parks Canada,…
Speaker Shakeel AHMED
Shakeel AHMED

Specialist

IUCN Species Survival Commission 2021-2025

Speaker Silke SPOHN
Silke SPOHN

Head of Programme Biodiversity-Environment-Ocean

GIZ

Silke Spohn is a trained engineer for landscape planning, who has been working in international development cooperation for the last 25 years, mainly with GIZ. Currently she is the head of the BMZ…
Stephen SUTI AGALO
Stephen SUTI AGALO
Speaker Gregory MUELLER
Gregory MUELLER

Chief Scientist Emeritus

Chicago Botanic Garden

Gregory Mueller is Chief Scientist Emeritus at the Chicago Botanic Garden.  He is also a Research Associate at Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago and an Adjunct Professor at Southern…
Speaker Marion PONCET
Marion PONCET

Nature based solution project manager

IUCN French committee

Marion Poncet, PhD in Molecular Chemistry, specialized in public policy and environmental strategy at AgroParisTech. She discovered Nature-based Solutions during her studies and has since focused on…
Speaker NGIMBI DANIEL MABENGO
NGIMBI DANIEL MABENGO

FACILITATEUR COMMUNAUTAIRE

Alliance Nationale d'Appui et de Promotion des Aires et Territoires du Patrimoine Autochtone et Communautaire en RDC (ANAPAC)

Country of Origin: Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)Memberships:  Alliance Nationale d’Appui et de Promotions des Aires et Territoires du Patrimoine Autochtone et Communautaire en RDC (ANAPAC-…
Speaker Denis MICHEZ
Denis MICHEZ

Professor

University of Mons

Denis Michez holds a degree in engineering from University of Liège (Belgium) and a Ph-D in Biological Sciences from the University of Mons (Belgium). He did a postdoc at Cornell University (USA) in…
Speaker Youbo ZHUANG
Youbo ZHUANG
ZHUANG Youbo is a tenured associate professor and doctoral supervisor in the Department of Landscape Architecture at the School of Architecture, Tsinghua University, and serves as the deputy director…
Speaker Hiba ABI HUSSEIN
Hiba ABI HUSSEIN

Head of Biostatistics Department

Ekthar Wildlife Development Limited

Speaker Susanne PEDERSEN
Susanne PEDERSEN

Director

IUCN - International Union for Conservation of Nature

Susanne Pedersen has 30 years of experience as a board member, director, and strategic advisor from international organizations, a science-based advisory centre, an innovation community, industry…
Speaker Jennifer OLEGERIIL
Jennifer OLEGERIIL

Minister for Justice

Ministry of Justice

Jennifer S. OlegeriilMinister of JusticeMinistry of JusticeRepublic of PalauBiographyJennifer S. Olegeriil was sworn into office to hold the post of Minister of Justice on 19 May 2025under the…
Speaker Manon BOURHIS
Manon BOURHIS

JAE - Commission Member

IUCN Climate Crisis Commission 2022-2025

Manon is a passionate advocate for the environment and conservation, with extensive experience both nationally and internationally.She holds a BA in Political Science from the University of Montreal…
Speaker Ahmed SEFI
Ahmed SEFI

Project Manager

4 Earth Intelligence (4EI)

Ahmed Sefi is a seasoned PMI Certified Project Manager and Geospatial Expert at 4 Earth Intelligence (4EI), with over 18 years of combined technical, consulting and managerial experience. He has…
Speaker Stephanie MANSOURIAN-STEPHENSON
Stephanie MANSOURIAN-STEPHENSON

Consultant

Mansourian.org

Stephanie Mansourian has been an environmental consultant for close to 20 years and is also a research associate with Geneva University and an external scientific collaborator with Lausanne…
Speaker Andrea CARMEN
Andrea CARMEN

Executive Director

International Indian Treaty Council

Andrea Carmen, Yaqui Nation, became a staff member of the International Indian Treaty Council in 1983 and its Executive Director in 1992. Andrea was IITC’s team leader for work on the UN Declaration…
Speaker Haizea JIMENEZ
Haizea JIMENEZ

Head of Overseas programme

IUCN French Committee

Marine biologist specializing in the quantitative ecology of benthic communities across coastal temperate and tropical ecosystems. I bring extensive fieldwork expertise, strong taxonomic skills, and…