Rabia Hawa
Advisory Board MemberBorn in Kenya in 1982 Rabia Hawa has over 10 years of experience working in the field of wildlife conservation with rangers. In 2014 she led a 25- day cross-country trek from Arusha, Tanzania to Nairobi, Kenya.
Her famed 500km Walk With Rangers saw a 71% reduction in the perception among young Kenyans that rangers were involved in the scourge of elephant poaching that had gripped the region during that time. Young Kenyans now saw rangers as more than a man in green uniform, rangers were finally being recognised as brave Kenyans on the front lines, sacrificing time with their own families to protect wildlife for future generations.
Due to the success of this trek, Hawa was able to successfully launch East Africa’s first nonprofit aimed at ranger empowerment, welfare and facilitation- Ulinzi Africa Foundation. Through UAF, Hawa has raised considerable awareness on the challenges faced by rangers on the ground and provided greatly needed training and gear support to over 250 rangers across Kenya.
Philipp Henschel
Advisory Board MemberOver the past 20 years, Philipp held a long list of positions within the wildlife conservation field, mainly in Central Africa. Starting in 1998 in Gabon, he began work as a Biological Advisor for the World Wide Fund for Nature before joining the ranks of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). In 2000-2006, Philipp served as the Principal Investigator in the WCS Great Cats Program’s Forest Leopard Study. During this period, most of his work focused on leopards, a wild cat that has received little scientific attention in Central Africa.
However, since 2003, he also repeatedly acted as expedition leader during surveys on lion populations in the forest-savannah landscapes in Gabon, the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 2008, Philipp earned his Ph.D. in Conservation Biology at the University of Göttingen in Germany, having devoted his dissertation to the conservation biology of the leopard in Gabon.
Starting in 2009, Philipp Henschel joined conservation NGO Panthera, as Lion Program Regional Coordinator within West and Central Africa. From his home base in Gabon, Philipp now fulfils the position of Panthera’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa. Over the years, Philipp has contributed to over forty scientific articles and book chapters.
Abidemi Kehinde
Advisory Board MemberAbidemi Kehinde is a passionate conservationist with interest in captive wildlife management/breeding initiatives that aims to build capacity for wildlife species/population conservation. She holds B.Sc., Masters and PhD degrees in Wildlife Management from the University of Ibadan.
She has taken part in a number of procedures on the physical restraint, chemical immobilization, translocation and release of wildlife species. Abidemi has over 2 decades of experience in captive care of wildlife species.
Stephen Haruna
advisory Board MemberStephen Haruna is one of the most respected individuals in Nigerian wildlife conservation. He was formerly the General Manager of Nigeria’s foremost wilderness area – the Yankari Game Reserve.
David Smith
advisory Board MemberDavid Smith is Chairman of the British African Business Alliance Ltd – a diaspora-led business network focused on accelerating Economic Development in Africa. Working from the UK, the African Diaspora is well placed to create new links that bring technology, business opportunities, investment and funding to the continent to create jobs and wealth across Africa.
He is Chairman of the MPH Rail Development Ltd, who are working on the deployment of rail solutions in Africa – particularly in Nigeria, Ghana, Gabon and Zimbabwe
He has been appointed Executive Director of Occupational Safety and Health Association in UK, who are driving programmes to improve Health and Safety initiatives across the continent.
As Chief Executive of Rainbow Interchange Ltd, David is bringing forward technology to enhance access to banking, improve remittance flow and easy payments for fully regulated account holders.
His career includes 30 years in advertising and marketing, where he specialised in retail marketing and worked with major UK companies. He also gained wide experience in the IT, Financial Services, Electrical, Property and DIY markets.
David has worked in Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, South Africa, USA, and Uruguay and relishes the cultural and commercial challenges of International Business.
Abubakar Atiku Musa
advisory Board MemberAbubakar Atiku Musa Is currently a Deputy Conservator of Park in the Nigerian National Park Service and holds an MTech degree in Environmental Management (bias in Natural Resource Management) from the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria. In the past 19 years, he has been seconded or posted to support various World Bank Assisted Programmes (LEEMP-GEF, CSDP, YESSO, NASSP and NG-CARES) as an M&E Specialist (2005 – 2024). While on these Programmes, he has enjoyed several strategic international and local trainings that have prepared him to handle almost all aspects of Project Management, especially in wildlife management, social protection, etc.