Granting committee

Dr Peter Lindsey

Peter joined WCN in 2017 as the Conservation Initiatives Director and brings a lifelong passion for African wildlife conservation to the organisation. He has been working on and with African wildlife since 1993, when he started out as an apprentice in Save Valley Conservancy in Zimbabwe.

Peter went on to study at Oxford and ultimately graduated with a PhD from the Mammal Research Institute at the University of Pretoria. Developing an early expertise on painted wolves, Peter went on to work on a broad array of conservation issues ranging from predator conservation, to the threats facing them and other wildlife, to wildlife ranching and community conservation, and most recently to Africa’s vast protected area network.

Peter has worked in Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe and brings a unique ‘big picture’ perspective to our African conservation efforts. Prior to joining WCN, Peter worked for Panthera’s Lion Program as the policy coordinator and completed some major overviews of the issues facing the conservation of lions in Africa’s protected area network.

Peter Blinston

Peter first learned of the plight of the painted wolf as an eight-year-old boy growing up in England. He moved to Zimbabwe in 1997 to help establish Painted Dog Conservation (PDC) with his rare combination of passion, interpersonal skills and business and management expertise.

Peter has guided the development and execution of programmes to address the threats directly impacting the painted wolves, from the deployment of anti-poaching units to establishing the world-class Iganyana Children’s Bush Camp. He has hired a capable and dedicated team of local staff, who are also playing a critical role in changing local attitudes towards conservation.

He is the co-author of the highly acclaimed coffee table book, Painted Wolves: A Wild Dog’s Life, which he wrote with Nicholas Dyer, providing a powerful insight into the lives of the painted wolves and what is being done to save them.

When Peter takes on a new initiative, it will be done well, with full regard for the complexities of doing conservation in Zimbabwe. Peter is also highly regarded by his peers as an effective manager who is rigorous about producing outcomes.

Dr Markus Hofmeyr

Since a young age, Markus has been interested in wildlife and conservation. He graduated as veterinarian from the University of Pretoria in 1994.

After graduating, he worked as an exotic animal vet at the University of Pretoria. In 1995, he joined the North West Parks and Tourism Board as veterinarian and field ecologist for Madikwe Game Reserve. From there he moved to Kruger National Park at the end of 1999 as a junior veterinarian, rising through the ranks to become the Head of the Veterinary Wildlife Services Department for South African National Parks in 2003.

From SANParks, Markus moved to Botswana in 2017 to fill the role as the Chief Conservation Officer for Great Plains Conservation and overseeing the Botswana component of the Rhino without Borders rhino translocation to the Okavango Delta. After 2 years Markus moved to the Oak Foundation as a program officer in the wildlife conservation & trade portfolio based in London and currently will remain with them and play a dual role as Director of the Rhino Recovery Fund and developing the conservation strategy in the Oak Foundation. 

Markus has been working with rhino since a student so they have been a thread throughout his career.

Nicholas Dyer (non-voting)

Raised in Kenya, Nick spent much of his life working in the City of London as a fund manager before running his own investment marketing business. Returning to Africa in 2012, he refocused his life on something more worthwhile and emotionally rewarding – photography and conservation.

Nick has an enormous passion for painted wolves spending seven years following three packs on foot in Mana Pools, studying, photographing and documenting their lives with deep intimacy.

He is the co-author of the highly acclaimed coffee table book, Painted Wolves: A Wild Dog’s Life, which he wrote with Peter Blinston, providing a powerful insight into the lives of the painted wolves and what is being done to save them.

Dedicating his life to conservation, he co-founded the Painted Wolf Foundation to help secure the future of the species. He is now its CEO and the Director of the Painted Dog Fund.

Nick gives talks around the world on behalf of the painted wolves, appears on TV and radio and has articles and photographs published in myriad publications globally including National Geographic.

Nick was a finalist in the Natural History Museum’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition with his photograph ‘Ahead of the Game’. He is a Fellow of The Royal Geographical Society in London and a member of The Explorers Club in New York.

Dr Irene Amoke

Independent Consultant | Founder & Director, ConserveAbility Pathways Ltd | Strategic Advisor, Kenya Wildlife Trust

Dr Irene Amoke is a landscape ecologist with over twenty years of practical experience. Her expertise lies in developing and implementing strategies for sustainable coexistence between humans and wildlife, particularly in fragile ecosystems. With a background in conservation science and policy, strategic leadership, and programme management, she has contributed to and worked in academia, government, and the private sector in Kenya, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.

As Founder of ConserveAbility Pathways Ltd, a Kenyan-based consulting firm, Irene works with conservation organisations to translate broad goals into measurable outcomes, bridging the gap between strategic vision and implementation. She advises on organisational development, programme management, and sustainable financing. Irene also serves as a Strategic Advisor to Kenya Wildlife Trust, strengthening conservation impact and institutional sustainability. Previously, as Executive Director of KWT, she led conservation strategy, enhanced partnerships and community engagement, and spearheaded fundraising efforts

Irene holds a PhD in Landscape Ecology, an MSc in Environmental Assessment & Management, and a BSc in Zoology. She is an Eisenhower Fellow (2022 Africa Climate Change Programme) and a Women in Environment, Africa Fellow (2023). Passionate about natural capital and nature-based solutions, she serves on various national and international boards. She is also a mentor and facilitator, supporting conservation leadership across Africa.

Prof. Claudio Sillero

Born and bred in the Argentine Pampas, Claudio graduated as a zoologist (Universidad Nacional de La Plata 1984), before heading off to East Africa. He joined WildCRU in its early days to study the behavioural ecology of Ethiopian wolves (DPhil Oxford 1994).

A conservation biologist interested in threatened species, disease dynamics, protected area management and human-wildlife coexistence, his experience spans four continents and many countries, including Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Mongolia, Mozambique, Niger, Peru and Senegal.

His work focuses on the relationships between wildlife and rural communities, tackling the impact of viral diseases on wildlife, people and their livestock using a One Health approach. He promotes the coexistence of wildlife and human interests and contributes whenever he can to biodiversity conservation policy and practices, and maximising the value of networks in conservation.

As the Director of WildCRU’s Postgraduate Diploma in International Wildlife Conservation Practice, he aspires to train and inspire an inclusive and more diverse generation of conservation practitioners.

He is a keen naturalist and loves nothing better than being out and about, whether on foot, horseback or driving on a rugged track. Taxonomically, he is drawn to all mammals, large and small, but has a predilection for carnivores, particularly all wild canids.

Claudio is the founder and director of the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme and the chair of the IUCN Canid Specialist Group , the international body responsible for the conservation of wolves, jackals, dogs and foxes.

Dr Harriet Davies-Mostert

With an early career focused on large carnivore conservation, Harriet is passionate about the role of conservation evidence and applied science in driving effective action. She also understands that good decision making is both a science and an art.

Born and raised in Zimbabwe, Harriet spent the last 23 years at the Endangered Wildlife Trust in South Africa, driving its strategic direction and later building its Conservation Planning and Science Unit. Harriet sits on various national and international advisory and technical committees and is an active member of the IUCN SSC Conservation Planning Specialist Group and is Chairman of the Wild Dog Advisory Group (WAG).

She has published over 50 scientific papers and book chapters covering topics from large carnivore ecology and conservation, natural resources governance and policy, the wildlife economy, road ecology, and restorative justice.

Qualifications include an MSc in Tropical Resource Ecology from the University of Zimbabwe, and a Doctorate on African Wild Dogs from Oxford University’s WildCRU. Harriet is excited by the opportunity to assist Conserve in delivering enormous conservation impact across Africa.