Dr. Rodney Jackson is a leading expert on wild snow leopards and their high-mountain habitat. Snow Leopard Conservancy has grown out of Rodney’s 40 years’ experience gained in working closely with rural herders and farmers whose lives are directly impacted when snow leopards’ prey upon their livestock. Upon receiving a 1981 Rolex Award for Enterprise, Rodney launched a pioneering radio-tracking study of snow leopards in the remote mountains of the Nepalese Himalaya. This four-year study led to the cover story in the June 1986 National Geographic. In addition, the June 2008 issue of National Geographic featured Rodney’s work with the Snow Leopard Conservancy-India Trust. He has been a finalist for the Indianapolis Prize in 2008, 2010, 2012, 2016, and 2018 – the first to be nominated three times consecutively. The Indianapolis Prize is the world’s largest individual monetary award for animal conservation.

Rodney prepared the snow leopard section of the IUCN-World Conservation Union’s Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan for Cats, which serves as a definitive document on the needs and opportunities for preservation of the earth’s remaining wild cats. He currently sits on IUCN’s Cat Specialist Core Group and served from 2003 until 2008 on the Snow Leopard Network Steering Committee. Rodney led the standardization of snow leopard field survey methods across the twelve snow leopard host countries, the Snow Leopard Information Management System (SLIMS). Working with partner agencies, he trained biologists in these methods in nature reserves in China, Pakistan, Mongolia, Nepal, Bhutan, and India. SLIMS has since been superseded by advancements in technology for surveying snow leopard populations. Rodney’s breadth of work over four decades has contributed to countless scientific publications. Dr. Jackson retired in 2022 and currently is serving as President of SLC’s Board of Directors, devoting his efforts toward assisting in refining the Conservancy’s strategic approach and impact, mentoring the next generation of promising range-country conservationists, and special projects.

Darla Hillard’s book, Vanishing Tracks: Four Years Among the Snow Leopards of Nepal, is an extraordinary personal accounting of the hardships and successes of the landmark radio-tracking study. Darla has also written for Travelers’ Tales: San Francisco and Bay Nature magazines and was a contributor to the book Searching for the Snow Leopard and the lead author for the chapter Environmental Education for Snow Leopard Conservation in the book Snow Leopards, published in 2016 to launch the Elsevier Press series, Biodiversity of the World: Conservation from Genes to Landscapes. Darla served as SLC’s Education Director and Land of Snow Leopard Facilitator until her retirement in 2021. She is currently an Advisor to the Land of Snow Leopard Network, mentoring the next generation of leadership.

Prior to joining the Conservancy in 2020, Ashleigh worked as a Zoologist in AZA-Accredited Zoos in Florida and California for 20 years, specializing in the care and conservation of wild carnivores, particularly felids. Ashleigh has a Bachelor’s degree in Zoology (Pre-Veterinary) from the University of Florida and a Master’s degree from the Royal Veterinary College and Zoological Society of London in Wild Animal Biology. She has also worked closely with Ruaha Carnivore Project, Malayan Conservation Alliance for Tigers, Pallas’s Cat International Conservation Alliance, and the Felid Taxon Advisory Group, serving as a “Wildlife Health Bridge”, between zoos & field conservation organizations to build collaboration and collective impact.

Ashleigh is the co-founder and co-director of SLC’s One Health – One Welfare initiative, improving animal-human health and the protection of snow leopards and biodiversity in Nepal. She is furthering compassionate coexistence using her interdisciplinary zoological and conservation experience in animal behavior, welfare, veterinary medicine and creative problem solving in our rapidly changing world. Ashleigh loves new adventures on both land and sea, dancing, theatre, and spending time with her beloved family, friends, and animals. @snowleopardconservancy.ash

Kayley Bateman is the Programs Manager at Snow Leopard Conservancy, overseeing SLC’s conservation, education, and research programs. With 15 years of experience as an animal care specialist, she has worked directly with snow leopards and other wildlife at San Francisco Zoo and Brookfield Zoo. Kayley holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois and a master’s degree in Biology from Miami University’s Project Dragonfly. She mentors graduate students as an Alumni Leader and is involved with “Trees for You and Me,” a zookeeper-funded reforestation grant program. At SLC, she’s dedicated to advancing our partners’ community-led conservation projects and fostering collaboration between in-situ and ex-situ efforts. Kayley was selected for the 10th class of Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders (EWCL), a two-year program offering training, mentorship, and networking opportunities for early career conservationists. As part of EWCL, she’ll work on an international wildlife conservation initiative, supporting lion conservation in Botswana with CLAWS Conservancy. As an outdoor lover and nature enthusiast, Kayley enjoys hiking, SCUBA diving, snorkeling, wildlife viewing, and exploring all of California’s diverse landscapes.

Brian Peniston serves as Co-Principal Investigator overseeing the (United Kingdom) Darwin Initiative Grant awarded to SLC for snow leopard and biodiversity conservation in Nepal. Brian has extensive experience both nationally and internationally managing diverse programs, especially in the Himalayan region. He served as the regional director for The Mountain Institute (TMI) for over 17 years, directing its Himalaya Program, and co-managed Makalu Barun National Park and Buffer Zone, focused on strengthening local participation in biodiversity conservation east of Mt Everest.

Brian is skilled in many disciplines, including community engagement, rural enterprises, conservation/natural resource management, park management, and cultural restoration. He spent 24 years in Nepal and is fluent in Nepali. Brian is responsible for co-managing the two-year Darwin Initiative Grant ���Integrating local government and community conservation capacity for snow leopards,” a joint collaboration between Mountain Spirit, National Trust for Nature Conservation/Annapurna Conservation Area Project and most importantly, local communities in Nepal’s Manang and Mustang Regions.

Brian has a Masters degree in Forestry (Yale University) and Public Health (University of Hawaii) and an undergraduate degree in Philosophy (Connecticut College).

Charleen Gavette serves in a consultatory capacity as Programs Specialist, working closely with the Programs Manager on the Conservancy’s field programs, capacity-building, and reporting. Charleen was SLC’s Programs Manager for 3 ½ years, deciding to step away in 2023. She has also been a long-time Conservancy volunteer, assisting with GIS modeling of potential snow leopard habitat and migratory corridors and creating maps for presentations. She has also been a key volunteer in our “Land of the Snow Leopard” initiative, attending workshops in Mongolia and Kyrgyzstan and leading the development of special computer apps. She continued these activities as Conservancy staff.

Charleen was a Registered Nurse when she worked in the UCSF Medical Center’s Neurosurgical Intensive Care Unit. Her second career as a specialist in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) led her to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service. For the past 15 years, the focus of her work has been on endangered and threatened salmon and steelhead. She has a B.S. degree from the University of San Francisco and a Masters in Geography from San Francisco State University.

Amar mende! My name is Maria Azhunova. I come from Buryat-Mongol people, Ekhirit tribe on my father’s side, and Sagaan/Khongoodor on my mother’s; both tribes connect their origin to Lake Baikal, just north of the Russian-Mongolian border. Raised in a family of Indigenous and environmental activists, I understood early on that Indigenous Peoples’ traditional knowledge, values, spiritual and cultural practices are crucial for decelerating today’s unprecedented loss of biodiversity. I have long been helping Indigenous elders, shamans, Buddhist clergy, and community leaders in efforts to address the root causes of the current environmental crisis. I am devoted to our Indigenous ethics and determined to incorporate these ethical, cultural, and spiritual dimensions into conservation efforts. With this commitment and empowerment from my Elders, I was privileged to obtain education at Harvard and Cambridge Universities.

Being the Director of the Land of Snow Leopard Network (LOSL) has helped me appreciate the Snow Leopard both as a keystone species and as a totem animal with profound religious, cultural, and ecological significance. We view the threat to Snow Leopards as both a biological loss and a loss of ancient moral reference points. Therefore, we provide a unique approach to community-based snow leopard conservation blending Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Western conservation science. Our network is an inspiring example of a multinational collaboration working together in majestic mountain regions such as the Pamirs in Tajikistan, the Tien Shan in Kyrgyzstan, and the Altai and Sayan Ranges in Mongolia and the Russian Federation.

The work of LOSL is rooted in indigenous understanding of the sacredness, cultural and environmental significance of the snow leopard across Central and Inner Asia. Since we began our work with the communities of these mountain regions, there have been multiple success stories of human-wildlife coexistence and rural communities championing wildlife. Our hard work and devotion to the sacred Snow Leopards are recognized on the international level with the Disney Conservation Hero Award (2020) and Stanford Bright Award (2020).

Shavaun Kidd is a wildlife conservation educator and has worked with the Conservancy since 2014. Serving as the Outreach Manager, she maintains their presence on social media and is editor of the digital newsletter. She has served as administrator of the website and was the host of the online program, Conservation Cat Chats. She handles fundraising sales and coordinates the Conservancy’s Art & Poetry Contest.

Shavaun was an instructor in the education department at the Nashville Zoo and an educator at her local zoo where she developed/coordinated the junior zookeeper program. She also created a multi-age snow leopard conservation program for the Conservancy. Shavaun was the author/editor of the book Searching for the Snow Leopard, Guardian of the High Mountains. She continues to engage with students and speak at outreach events.

Shavaun interned with the Conservancy while completing her Master of Liberal Arts and Sciences degree at Western Illinois University (WIU), centered around a post-baccalaureate certificate program in zoo & aquarium studies, with the focus on conservation education and anthrozoology. She received bachelor’s degrees in biology and music and elementary education from Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois, taught science classes at the intermediate/high school grade levels, and was a guest lecturer at WIU.

Dr. Jan Janečka is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Duquesne University, Chair of the Duquesne Institutional Biosafety Committee, and a Research Associate of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Currently, Dr. Janečka’s lab focuses on conservation genetics and genomics of snow leopards and their adaptation to high altitude, landscape genetics of black bears, macroevolutionary processes and adaptation in mammals, and using camera traps to examine the effects of habitat factors on diversity of mammals. His laboratory has also provided wildlife forensic DNA matching and genetic analysis of deer, bears, cheetahs, lions, ocelots, pangolins, and other species to numerous government agencies, zoos, and NGOs. He has conducted field expeditions and trained students, researchers, and conservationists in the US as well other countries including Mongolia, China, Nepal, India, and Bhutan. Dr. Janecka teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Genetics, Environmental Sampling, and Bioinformatics at Duquesne.

Margaret Gee, the Snow Leopard Conservancy’s Australian Ambassador hails from Sydney. She’s worked in publishing for over 30 years, and for the last 20 years has been a literary agent specializing in memoirs and other non-fiction works focusing on nature, Himalayan cultures, anthropology, history, animal welfare, and wellness. Margaret has visited Bhutan eight times and traveled extensively in Nepal, India, Burma, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. She regularly attends the Jaipur Literature Festival and went on her first snow leopard expedition in 2019. She returned to Ladakh to search for the Grey Ghost in January 2023. Margaret’s husband Brent is a volunteer doctor with Health Volunteers Overseas in Bhutan.

Dr. Charlotte Hacker is a research biologist with the Department of the Interior for the U.S. government. Her work focuses on using scientific data to evaluate the effects of conservation management decisions. Her PhD work under the advisement of Dr. Jan Janecka at Duquesne University involved the use of noninvasive genetic techniques to better understand snow leopard population parameters, landscape connectivity, and diet. She continues her snow leopard research as an active member of the Snow Leopard Network, providing support for training modules and webinars. Charlotte received her MS from Western Kentucky University studying elephant behavior and welfare and her BS from Wilkes University in Pennsylvania.

Dr. Jonathan Hanson serves as the Conservancy’s Social Science Affiliate. Raised in Ireland and Malawi, Dr. Hanson is a co-founder and the Managing Director of Jubilee Community Benefit Society, who own and operate Jubilee Farm, the first community-owned farm in Northern Ireland. He has a BA in medieval history and archaeology from Queen’s University, Belfast, an MSc in business management and sustainability from Queen’s University Management School, and a PhD in snow leopard conservation and rural development from the University of Cambridge. A frequent writer, speaker, and broadcaster on environmental and agricultural topics, Jonny is also a trustee of the Nyika-Vwaza Trust, a UK-based conservation charity, active in Northern Malawi, and is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. As well as working part-time for Jubilee, Jonny works part-time as a homemaker.

Raja Bhadury has worked for over twenty years developing and commercializing mobile computing solutions. He is currently with HP Inc. where he manages cloud-hosted desktop initiatives. Before this, he managed a portfolio of HP solutions used by healthcare delivery organizations worldwide to enhance patient care.

Since childhood, Raja has enjoyed the outdoors and visited national parks across India, Africa, and North America. He has witnessed firsthand the devastating impact of climate change but also has seen how enlightened communities and businesses are meeting the challenge in creative ways. He supports the Conservancy’s conservation initiatives by drawing from his experience as a technologist leading global (and increasingly virtual) teams.

He resides in Northern California and has degrees from Harvard College (B.A.) and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (M.A.).

Carolyn MacKenzie joined the Conservancy’s Board of Directors as Secretary in 2020. Carolyn always wanted to be a wildlife biologist. At age 20 she backpacked across Africa, India and the Middle East. She received a Bachelor of Science in zoology and her Master of Science degree in biophysics, both from the University of California, Davis. Along the way, her direction changed. She recently retired after a distinguished 40-year career in the field of Health Physics. Carolyn’s broad experience includes securing and disposing of dangerous radioactive sources for the University of California, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the International Atomic Energy Agency. She currently consults on this topic to the federal government.

As an International Radiation Source Specialist with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Vienna, Austria, Carolyn led missions to 35 United Nations member countries to establish national strategies for the control of sealed radioactive sources. She participated in Technical Cooperation programs with Eastern European countries, China and Iraq addressing radioactive source location and recovery. She managed workshops and projects for source recovery in 10 African countries, and was technical lead on international standards development in the field of health physics. This work led to a 2005 Nobel Peace Prize shared by IAEA’s Director General and the approximately 2000 IAEA staff.

Carolyn is also the President of the Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County, promoting peaceful dialogue and understanding among the world’s faith religions. This work is relevant to the Conservancy’s Land of Snow Leopard Network.

Terry currently works as the Chief Financial Officer at LastPass, a software security provider. Terry has spent the last 30+ years working as a Finance professional in both public and private companies and is a licensed C.P.A. in California. Terry has always enjoyed the outdoors and developed a deep appreciation for nature, which began with extensive backpacking through the Sierra Nevada and Trinity Alps mountain ranges and scuba diving off the California coast. This passion for the outdoors led Terry to become involved in wildlife conservation. He has been involved in conservation since the early 1990’s beginning with the California Marine Mammal Center located in Marin County, north of San Francisco. Since that time, Terry has continued his support of wildlife through local efforts including the Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley.

Caroline Gabel lives in Maryland, where she directs the Shared Earth Foundation, which supports endangered species and their habitats. Caroline is also active on the boards of Defenders of Wildlife and Rachel’s Network. She served as a Congressional staffer on the House Committee on Public Works and Transportation from 1970 to 1999. There she helped establish legislation to, among other things: protect and restore the backwaters and sloughs of the Upper Mississippi, protect and enhance water quality in the Great Lakes, improve aviation safety and security, channel highway money into bicycle and hiking trails, and historic preservation. Caroline is a licensed pilot, accomplished equestrian, and avid traveler. She saw a snow leopard during the 2007 Winter Quest for the Snow Leopard and served as the Snow Leopard Conservancy Board President from 2010 – 2022.

Tshewang Wangchuk is a Bhutanese wildlife biologist who brings nearly twenty years of field experience to Snow Leopard Conservancy Board of Directors. He has worked with Bhutan’s Royal Society for Protection of Nature as well as the national Nature Conservation Division. He coordinated WWF International’s Tiger Program and has been actively involved in Bhutan’s extensive protected area management system. Tshewang serves as Executive Director with the Bhutan Foundation and he is also completing his doctoral degree at the University of Montana, with a thesis on snow leopard population genetics in Bhutan.

Mary Herrmann grew up in Minnesota, graduating from the University of Minnesota with a degree in Medical Technology. She served as a teacher in the Peace Corps in Liberia from 1969 to 1971. After returning, she specialized in microbiology, and joined Virolab in Berkeley, CA, for 21 years, working in virology and immunology. Her work involved collaboration with leading research scientists on numerous ground-breaking epidemiological studies, including HIV-AIDS, Lyme disease, and Epstein-Barr virus. Mary has traveled extensively, including trekking in the snow leopard’s habitat in northern India.

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We mourn the loss of Robert J. Wilson, Board Treasurer/Chief Financial Officer and longtime personal and professional friend of the Snow Leopard Conservancy. Bob will always be remembered for his huge heart and caring commitment to wild animals, from sea lions, walruses and polar bears to snow leopards, tigers and more. He was so very gracious in giving his time and deep knowledge of non-profits. Bob was responsible for helping Darla and Rodney establish SLC in 2010 as a 501( c)(3) organization. His attention to good fiscal management and governance helped guide the organization to where it is today – well respected and active in five of the snow leopard’s 12 range countries centered in the mountains of Asia.

On behalf of SLC and all colleagues across the world, we extend our heartfelt condolences to Bob’s family and his many friends. He will be truly missed, but we know his spirit will be nearby, in the Farallon Islands and the other places so dear to him. Rest in Love & Peace, dearest Bob.

Karen Campbell (she/her/hers) is a strategic development professional with 20 years of dedicated experience in the nonprofit sector and a passionate advocate for the environment. Over her career, Karen has led programs and raised funds for conservation and youth environmental education programs that develop environmental literacy and foster future generations as stewards of the environment. Karen holds a Master of Nonprofit Administration from University of San Francisco School of Management, as well as, a Bachelor of Science in Environmental and Biological Sciences from Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio. She enjoys spending time in nature, teaching Pilates and tending to her raised bed community garden.

Dr. Katie Lawlor is the co-founder of Veterinary Mental Health Support (VMHS), an international nonprofit program that provides free mental health support services to veterinary medicine professionals. Katie received her doctorate from the joint program between the Stanford University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the Pacific Graduate School of Psychology. She trained at both the Stanford University Medical Center and the VA Palo Alto Health Care System, focusing on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), neuropsychology, and human-animal interactions (HAI). Before her career in clinical psychology, Katie held positions with NBC News in Beijing and New York City, the U.S. Department of State in Washington DC, and the Governor’s Office of California. She holds a Master’s in economic policy from Columbia University and a BA from the University of Notre Dame.