When did you first hear about the work of GCC?

I was looking for employment and a friend sent me a link that directed me to the application form for the field ranger scholarship. So, I applied for the scholarship and in preparation for the interview, I looked at the GCC website and read all about the organization to see what it was about and what was their mission. That is how I got to learn about GCC.

How was the interview and the three-day physical evaluation to get a place in the scholarship program?

It was quite tough. The interview was not difficult; I was honest and open to the questions which made it simple. As for the training, that was intense. It was much tougher than I had expected, but I had the will. It’s within me that whenever I start something, I have to bring it to completion! So, when I applied for this scholarship, this gave me courage, because I said to myself “you have started this so now you have to continue until the end”.

How did you prepare?

I got tips from a friend who went for military training. She gave me some of the training advice and shared activities that she had done during her training, like running for 2.4km in 12 minutes, 50 pushups in 2 minutes, stuff like that. So those basic tips prepared me for the training, physically and also mentally. The advices from her gave me a bit of an idea of what I was going to encounter and when I got there it is was just like she said, and more actually!

How did you find the sleep-deprivation part of the training?

That was one of the toughest activities that we did. From the middle of the night a whistle would be blown up to two times, you would have up to 10 seconds to be dressed, with your 28 kg bag on, and be on the parade ground. So, I would sleep with my shoes on and I would put my bag in a manner that would allow me to just sit down and put it on. This exercise made sleeping a luxury because you would be partially conscious the whole night waiting to hear the next whistle blow to can make it to the parade ground on time. It was quite challenging at first, but I am grateful for the guy I shared the room with because we helped each other despite the fact that we were competing. We pushed one another really hard which helped us and, in the end, we were both deemed competent, which was great.

Have you always been interested in animal conservation or is this something that came later in life?

I have always been interested in conservation. I remember I was asked this question during the interview. They asked me “When did you first realize that you had a love for nature?” and it took me back to when I was young. I remember I had doves which I got from a relative, which nested in the ceiling of their house. I relocated them to my place where I created a home for them where I fed them and kept them warm. This was in 2006 while I was in grade 6. Later I had a puppy which I got from my aunt. This made me to be in conflict with my family because of their hatred for dogs but I still insisted to keep the puppy and made the whole family fall in love with it, took care of it until its last day on earth. As I proceeded to the high school level, I followed the science stream, and one of the subjects was life sciences/biology, of which I enjoyed the environmental section (paper 2) of that subject. And then, I went to university where I studied environmental sciences which broadened my knowledge on environmental systems at large.

I have always been in love with nature. I am always looking for opportunities to take care of something like a pet and stuff like that. Now, being exposed to conservation is something that I really enjoy and do wholeheartedly with passion. I had options to go and work as an environmental officer and wastewater treatment plant operations manager, but could not because my passion lies in conservation and taking care of our wildlife.

What are you working on with GCC?

Right now, I am working with GCC on a project that aims to expose all the different careers that lie within conservation. When we talk about conservation, a lot of people think of it as being about field rangers, and that’s not the only career that exists in conservation, there are quite a lot of different careers. So, I am working this project so as to expose all these different careers in conservation to the local communities along the border of the Kruger National Park and other protected area. I will connect with people who are within these different careers in conservation. One of my duties will be to interview and find out how they managed to reach the position they are in, the challenges they encountered, and what advice they can give to people interested in following in their footsteps. It is going to be very exciting.

Could you give me a few examples of some of the other careers that are out there in conservation?

We have a lodge manager who basically manages lodges in protected areas. This is basically one of the main sources of income for most protected areas. This is so through the visitors who visits to experience wildlife within an area, so you need to have knowledge of the animals in order to be able to engage with the clients.

There are pilots. Pilots are our eyes from the skies. They really assist in anti-poaching activities and game capture. Because of them, we are able to cover a large surface area and help the guys on the ground. We need guys to fly helicopters and planes to help out with this activities.

We also have veterinary scientists, who take care of the animals, controlling disease, making sure that the animals are in good shape through data collection, checking that their health condition are in order and prevention of the spread of diseases.

We also have ecologists who check the capacity of the land. They are responsible for noting the number of animals and the amount of food available to them within a particular protected area to ensure that the land is not degraded, having a wider lens on soil erosion and things like that too.

What are you most exciting about with your new role at GCC?

I am excited about meeting people in different careers because even if I know about the careers, but have never met people within those careers, so it is a chance for personal development. I am mostly excited about sharing this information that I believe will have a great and positive impact on the youngsters in the local communities, especially that I am someone whom they can relate to. Their lives will change and their perspectives of wildlife and conservation will shift or be redefined and this is something that really excites me.

Do you have a favorite animal?

I love elephants. I love elephants because I believe they are smart and also the elephant is a symbol of our family. I worked in a reserve as a field ranger intern and we had challenges with elephants breaking and crossing the fence. We noticed that the elephants would test the fence for electricity every now and then and if they found electricity, they would leave. But they would come back the next day to the very same place to check, and they would continue to come back, maybe four or five times, and the day there was no electricity, they would break the fence and leave the reserve. Their recall memory is amazing and their curiosity amazes me. They behave similarly to humans. The only thing they can’t do is to talk as we do, but most of the behaviors they portray are the very same behavior as most human beings have. They are just beautiful, magnificent animals and so easy to love.

If there was a young person interested in following in your footsteps, what advice would you give them to encourage them?

Conservation is more about love, it is more about passion, it is more about giving back to nature, and acknowledging that the resources that we use today should be used in a manner that they can be used again by future generations. As the field ranger creed quote says, “ I know that I have borrowed this earth from my children, and that I have not inherited it from my forefathers”, meaning that the way we use our resources today should be in a manner that the future generations can also use them. In order for a young person to appreciate that, they need to be passionate about the environment, passionate about saving wildlife. They have to love it. It needs love and passion first before any other thing.

How have you been coping with the COVID-19 crisis?

It put a lot of pressure on us and distracted us in our work, as you would expect. When the GCC ranger food drive arrived, our families welcomed it warmly. Each and every time we were out delivering the food rations, some of the families were in tears when they received the food because it was such a big relief for them, especially for their children. Early in the morning, they wanted to eat something but that something was not there because we had this situation where our employers had decreased our salaries to be able to keep us employed. With GCC supplying food to our families, we were very grateful. We felt very privileged, in comparison to some of our colleagues from different organizations, who were let go right from the beginning of the pandemic. For us it was very different. None of us lost a job thanks to our reserve management and GCC did an incredible thing for us by supplying food. We don’t have enough words to say thank you.

Are the tourists coming back?

National tourists can now travel all over South Africa, but the international tourists are still not coming and we rely on them. There are some lodges that were completely closed that are now opening. Some of the lodges call a group of four employees to come into work, and then the next week it is a different four. Gradually things will get back to the way they were before, but what I want to single out is that if you work for one week per month, you only get paid for that week so you have to find a way to survive.

How did you get involved in conservation?

My story starts back when I was still young. Growing up, I enjoyed seeing soldiers with their firearms, showing how proud they were, marching, and all those things. Growing up, I really wanted to be a soldier. Things didn’t work out as planned. When I came here, I started working for an external  construction company that had been hired by Timbavati. Mr. Brian Harris, a former warden of Timbavati, was very happy with my work in the construction company, and one day asked to see me.

When I arrived at his office, he was pleased to see me and told me that he was very happy with my work on the construction site. He then asked me if I would like to work permanently for Timbavati. I didn’t hesitate and said yes immediately. This was in 1997 and in 1998 I embarked on field ranger training. So, I started training and I graduated from the Southern African Wildlife College as a field ranger. Since then I have been working as a field ranger. I have grown from strength to strength, from junior field ranger to senior field ranger, to corporal instructor and field ranger corporal, and then a sergeant and now I am the head of ranger services for the organization. I am proud to be here and to be an employee of Timbavati. So, I would say half of what I wanted to be when I was young has been fulfilled because I work with firearms on a daily basis. I am not a soldier, but I still work more or less like a soldier protecting the wildlife. For me this is a great achievement, it is a good thing, so this is how I became a field ranger.

How have things changed since 1998 in your job?

There have been changes and I would say that the situation has gone from bad to worse. Initially, when we started training with Brian Harris, he used to tell us that there would be a war coming. He would say to us, “I am going to train you like soldiers. It is paramilitary training that I am offering to you so that one day when the wildlife war comes, you can stay alive for your families.” At that stage, we were only dealing with subsistence poaching, where people would come to the reserve to poach meat to eat.

As time went by, we noticed that it started to become more about money. We started to see camp break-ins where thieves would come from the villages to the reserves, lodges and camps to break in to steal jewelry, whatever they could find. So it was game meat and house break-ins.

When did the rhino poaching begin?

It wasn’t until later that rhino poaching started with the same people who were previously game meat poachers. We went from subsistence poaching and killing animals for meat to killing animals for money. The big difference with this was the shoot-outs. Before the game meat poachers were not armed with firearms, they would bring spears, dogs and snares to capture the animals, but the poachers coming for the rhinos and their horns are armed with firearms. Our mandate is to arrest poachers, but when you want to arrest someone who is armed, there is always an exchange of gunshots, and that results in fatalities on both sides.

Because of this, the game meat poachers realized that the environment was more dangerous for them to continue their poaching activities, so they joined the rhino poachers, serving as navigators as they knew the land in and out. They often hire someone from abroad or another area who doesn’t know the area, but is a good shooter, and work together, so rhino poaching is increasing daily.

How many times in a week are you called out because there are poachers?

It is difficult to make an average; some weeks are worse than the others. You may find that you have three groups of poachers in one night, or they come on different nights, but in the same area, which makes it difficult because sometimes they work with inside information. When they don’t have information, they can’t do anything.

Some poachers, or groups of poachers, come and try their luck without having any information, so for that kind of group, it is simple because they don’t know the lay of the land and the preparedness of the security personnel inside the reserve. But when you have someone who is internally involved, you have a problem because there will always be fresh information sharing, such as  field rangers numbers, patrol composition, type of firearms, time in and out, area of patrol etc. So, I would say we go out to attend to emergency situations with poachers around three times a week depending on whether it is a full moon or dark moon at most and or once a week at less.

What is your connection to GCC and what do you do to help them?

How I help them is by giving advice. GCC’s mandate is to improve the lives of people and their families, and whether they help directly or indirectly, they help everyone. So, I give them advice about what problems the communities are facing, what problems the wildlife is facing, what problems law enforcement is facing etc. When I give GCC this kind of information, they process it and seek ways to solve the problem at hand. When we had a problem with the COVID-19 situation, GCC came up with a plan to supply us with food parcels, so this is the kind of thing that GCC does for us and for which we are very grateful

What is your favorite animal?

I love every animal on the reserve and beyond. But if I had to choose, I would say that I mostly love to see the zebras. There are a couple of things that make me love zebras more than any other animal. If you look at an impala, it is a beautiful animal, but with the zebra, I have learned a lot of things. The zebra is resilient, it shows no sign of weakness, it is always strong, even in a dry season. If you see a wounded zebra after the lions have tried to catch it and leave it with open wounds it will still go on, never giving up, this is why I admire zebras. Also zebras show resilience during the dry season when there is not enough grass to feed, they still remain strong and healthy.

Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?

I was born in 1992 in Manilla, the capital of the Philippines, and I am currently living in a tiny town called Iloilo. I am the first of three girls, and I went to an exclusive all-girls catholic school. I was raised a catholic so we would go to mass every Sunday, and then I went to a state school for college, where I took organizational communications. For the most part, my career has been focused on social media and digital marketing.

How did you get into social media marketing?

I left school just as Facebook was beginning advertising and It wasn’t something that I thought I would do as a career but I was fairly good at making social media posts and I just fell into it. For the job that I left to come to GCC, I was working at a real estate marketing company and I was their social media manager. The person who found me, found my blog when I was still blogging and contacted me to work for the company and I stayed there for five years, so it was a bit by chance.

Why did you decide to move from Manilla to the countryside?

Where I live now the neighbors are cows! It is a far cry from the suburbs of Manilla, but it is nice and there is fresh air. I enjoy living in the countryside. I would say there were several different events that led me here. I was working for the same company for five years when during the fourth year, I decided to go back to school to enrich my knowledge on social media. I needed new information because the digital space is constantly growing. It was funny because the class I wanted to do was full, so I decided to choose another class, and for some reason, I chose a sociology class.

How did you like it?

At the risk of sounding cheesy, it was a life-changing moment for me as I had never left the bubble of Manilla, and for the most part, I was raised middle class where you don’t see anything else than what you are used to. The Philippines is in the developing world, and I had seen it in books, but it was weird to be living in such a country but not really understanding what strife looks like. So it was because of that class that I realized I wasn’t living a true life, I was living a very detached life from what other people were going through in the Philippines.

How did this realization change you?

It was life-changing in the sense that after the class, I realized that I didn’t want to work for a corporation anymore. I didn’t want to contribute to that kind of greed and that kind of capitalism that keeps poor people poor, and allows rich people to earn even more money. I didn’t want to be part of it anymore. It took me a year to save and prepare. I just needed the courage to leave a comfortable life. I started by stopping buying new things, and I haven’t bought a new piece of clothing in two years, and so if I need something, I always try to buy it second hand, or from a thrift store, or I would ask my mother if she had something that I could wear. So, I started like that, just gradual changes, and then I stopped buying from big supermarkets and went to local markets in my neighborhood instead.

My partner is a teacher and she moved to Iloilo first so it wasn’t difficult for me to decide to eventually leave my job and move here because there was a home waiting for me here. It was a gradual step. And when I got here, a friend from college contacted me, asking me if I wanted to work for a non-profit organization. It was just so serendipitous and the beginning of a new journey.

What appealed to you about working for GCC?

The conversation I had with Matt and Kate was so inspiring. To hear people excited about wanting to change the world but also understanding that when it comes to poaching, people don’t always mean harm, if they can’t eat and feed their families, they will resort to things like poaching and other illegal activities. Every day at GCC is really exciting, creating posts about animals, education, and conservation. Every day is an opportunity to learn more. The short time I have been here has been so much more fulfilling than the last six years put together. If you had told me a year or two ago that I would be living the life I am living now, I would never have believed it.

GCC is also very strong in communications. Can you tell us about this?

GCC also has a whole video team behind them. Many organizations find it difficult to produce content, pictures, and videos, and GCC doesn’t have that problem. We have pictures, we have videos. Sometimes it is more a question of not knowing what to do with the content they have! For me as a marketer and sometimes a writer, it is so exciting for me to have such a treasure trove of content that I can easily access to create posts.

Do you have a favorite platform?

YouTube is my personal favorite but for GCC, Instagram is my favorite. I usually post wildlife facts and images with animals because people love this One time a grandmother commented on one of the posts saying how her grandchildren always looked forward to our posts because they could play animal quiz games together, which was so nice.  Our followers on Instagram are so receptive and it is so visual and so nice to reach not only other non-profit organizations that are interested in us but also young people who want to learn more about animals.

How do you stay up to date with social media as it is constantly evolving?

It is good to read. There are lots of really good social media resources online, but for the most part, if you write something that has value or is funny and triggers emotions, you will not lose your way. Most corporations just want to produce content for the sake of producing content, without having a goal in mind. If you create authentic content for your audience then keeping ahead with social media updates comes second to providing valuable information.

What do you love about your job?

I love working with the people from GCC, it has been so nice and we are such a diverse group. For someone a lot younger, it has been such a learning experience. I love our worldwide Zoom meetings where you get so many views from so many different sectors, it is a big melting pot of ideas.

How did you get involved with GCC?
I have been with GCC from the very beginning. My brother Eli worked as a cheetah keeper in Namibia where he met Matt Lindenberg (GCC’s Founder), who was doing his masters there. Matt started talking to my brother about this film project he was working on called Rhino Man. My brother suggested that he talk to me as I am in film production. We set up a crowd-funding account and raised more than 12,000 dollars to get it off the ground. We have actually done a couple more Kickstarter campaigns since and raised even more money that has given us an influx of capital over the years to complete Rhino Man which will bring awareness to the work of the rangers.

Did you always want to work in the humanitarian space?
I studied film as an undergraduate and during those years I went to the Middle East to do a mini-documentary in Cairo. I ended up staying for two years and working in the humanitarian space. I was blown away by that world. I continued my studies through distance learning and returned to the US for exams. So I have a degree in business management with a specialty in non-profit. I was fascinated by how we can use business to make the world a better place.

You also work for Friendly Human; can you tell us about this?
Friendly Human really lives up to its name with values to be friendly and
human. We make around 1500 videos per year. Content is key. Some of our projects have 40 videos each, so lots of content. We specialize in authentic human storytelling to show the value of what our clients do.

What is the link between Friendly Human and GCC?
Friendly Human got involved with Rhino Man, so I have been working on the documentary from the beginning. Matt was studying for his Masters in Michigan and when he graduated, he didn’t know where to go, so he came to work for us making films at the same time as working on Rhino Man. He was with us for three and a half years and produced the most videos of all our producers. We have been working together ever since.

What is your role there?
I am Friendly Human’s Chief Operating Officer. The company was started 10 years ago by my great friend Daniel. I was already in the non-profit space, starting my own non-profit when I was 21 years old, and working to provide clean water in Haiti, and Peru. I stayed in touch with Daniel over the years and several years after the recession in the United States hit, he offered me a job. I work on processes and bringing the right people together to make strong and effective teams. We make videos for big US brands, and are almost finished with Rhino Man and I still operate my non-profit. My wife is Peruvian and we go back and forth to our apartment in Lima often. My passion is helping people.

How do you manage to do it all?
I get up early, around 4 am. I have an hour drive to the studio and I use the commute to plan my day in the morning and reflect on the way home on all the different things that are going on in all the different businesses, between GCC, Friendly Human, my non-profit, vidloft.com and another businesses and non-profits I contribute to.

What is your role at GCC?
I am on the board of directors with Matt, Michele, Lee and Josh. I am also acting COO for the specific process-related part of the business. I keep the books, do payroll, compliance contracts, etc. I was recently in Africa to do contracts for the South African Wildlife College and the Africa Foundation as we work to roll out our Future Rangers program in a big way.

What are the biggest challenges facing the organization right now?
I think it is our direction, making sure we stay laser-focused and know which way to run. We have a small team and the more focused we are, the better. It is making sure the team knows what the focus is and how to communicate that. It is the most critical thing. It is a difficult challenge, but the sharper the knife, the more we can cut!

What are you currently working on?
I always think that by providing as much value and building the best team or process to work, we can attract people to the organization. I believe we can build processes and run with them to make change. Right now, everyone is embracing a new communications plan and hopefully, the team will keep adding to it and making it better. We are working really hard to get the Future Rangers program scaled and successful in a digital COVID world, and make sure it is compliant from a data and privacy standpoint, that’s what I am most excited about.

What do you enjoy the most?
I love the unwavering commitment of the people on the team to make an impact. The rangers on the ground are having a big impact, but it is the influence of communication through education that I love. I love the fact that we work well together to make an impact. It gets me up early in the morning and keeps me up working late at night. Ultimately this hard work is contributing to things bigger than myself and we must act now if we are going to save our planet for future generations.

What would people be surprised to learn about you?
I speak Spanish and love working with my hands and especially repairing cars. I am a Toyota Land cruiser fanatic. I also love traveling, especially with my wife Janin and my son Liam, who is six.

What is your favorite animal?
I love dogs, I always have. But there is one endangered species here in the States that I have a particular affection for, which is the Bobwhite quail. I have the most beautiful childhood memories of raising these birds and reintroducing them into the wild with my father and grandfather.

How did you get involved with conservation?

I met Matt while working for the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia and we became friends. My job there was to care for cheetahs orphaned from human-wildlife conflict, and some of those cheetahs could be released back into the wild, where they belonged. It was an amazing thing to be a part of, but I started to feel like there was a bigger problem that I needed to focus on; the human dimensions of conservation. Wild animals will be okay, as long as we work with people towards a future for wildlife.

How did you refocus on the human side?
I applied to the University of Kent to study conservation and rural development and then went to the Indian Himalayas to research the snow leopard. I conducted a social science study looking at factors that influence attitudes and behaviours towards conservation, and loved it. This type of work fascinates me and I feel it is so useful for the field of conservation.

From there I moved to Denver and started looking for work. There was a part of the city there called River North Art District, (RiNo), so my friend and I contacted them to see if they were doing anything for actual rhinos. They said they weren’t but they would like to, so I called Matt.

What brought you to GCC?

Matt came out to Denver for our event with RiNo and the event was very well-received by the community, so, in addition to my coffee shop job and dog walking, I started working with Matt part-time. I have now been working full time at GCC for almost two years, working mostly from the United States, but I go to South Africa roughly twice a year.

What changes have you seen in the last two years?

The launch of the Future Rangers program has been great to bridge the gap between communities and wildlife. This is a really sustainable and scalable program that started with primary school children but now includes students up to the age of 18. Another positive is that funding has increased, meaning we can employ staff and move really quickly. Our partnerships have also grown which reinforces the organization.

What are you working on right now?

I am currently working on a National Geographic grant which focuses on the scalability and the monitoring and evaluation plan for the Future Rangers Program. As part of the monitoring and evaluation plan, we created a data collection app which can be used by our staff on the ground to track program progress and can provide a portfolio of evidence for students’ work, which they can take into the workforce.

What is your favorite animal?

It would have to be the cheetah. It is funny, I didn’t see one until I was 20 years old, but as a child, I loved watching nature programs and was just fascinated by the big cats. When I was five years old, I drew pictures of cheetahs, and made collages of wild animals from my Nat Geo magazines. There’s a home video of me where my mom asked me about the art projects, and I told her if only people could see how beautiful these creatures are, they wouldn’t kill them. I think this is when it all started for me!

How did you get involved with GCC?

In 2017 I went down to South Africa with my family and we did a few game drives to see the animals. In one of the lodges where we were staying there was some information about GCC. When I returned home, I went online and checked it out and wrote an email to Matt Lindenberg, Executive Director of the organization. He replied a few days later and we started talking. In September, we met in New York and shared our respective experiences. He is a conservationist and I am from management and the business world. I told him that if there was anything I could do to support the organization; I would be more than happy to help.

How did you change from the luxury business world to conservation?

I actually started my career with nature as I am a geologist by training. The love for geology has always remained with me. I am always reading about it and visiting places of geological interest such as the Himalayas, The Galapagos Islands, Tibet, Patagonia. So even when I was selling luxury watches, this passion stayed with me. One advantage of my professional life is that I have met some incredible people and companies from all over the world and there is nothing I enjoy more than connecting people. Right now, my mission is to connect people to concentrate on the two most important environmental issues: Biodiversity protection and climate change. Our planet is in a very bad situation and I am doing my best to focus on finding solutions. In addition to GCC, I am also starting to work with Resolve.org, an organization in Washington that uses technology to support conservation.

You have had an illustrious career in business, how is your particular expertise helping GCC?

The NGO sector and the business world generally don’t talk to each other. And I don’t mean to be critical, it is just an observation, but even the most professional NGOs live in a bubble. They don’t like to work with business people. And on the other side, the business world isn’t interested in NGOs, and this is totally wrong. NGOs need the business expertise and businesses need to put some of their money towards good causes. The private sector can also help the communication effort to teach people about these important causes. World leaders aren’t doing it. So, for me, I am trying to bring my business expertise to GCC so that it can be more efficient and pragmatic.

NGOs tend to spend most of their energy on their good work and neglect communication. In your mind, how important is the communication effort?

I am always hammering on about communication because this is the key to change. There are three different areas of communication. The first, which is very important, is that when private sector partners start talking about GCC, for example, it multiplies our communication by reaching new audiences. We have already partnered with Garmont, Tissot, and Swiza. For Garmont alone, we have done over 20 different events and communicated to diverse audiences from journalists to the general public, conservation specialists, etc. It is extremely effective.

The second area where we can improve is more strategic and it is ongoing. In my opinion, NGOs shouldn’t solely rely on donations; they should generate their own money so we are looking into having an e-commerce platform where we can sell different items to raise funds.

And most importantly, the third area is marketing and communication to the general public. World leaders have the power to make a difference, and yet they have made it very clear that they have no interest in conservation. So the only way to make them sit up and take note is to reach the voters and their choice of who to vote for. Communication is key here and we have a big job ahead to share our work with the general public.

Since you have started working with GCC, what progress have you seen?

GCC is really growing in terms of the people who are now on board. The organization has been networking at the highest level. We have seen interest from the global press, the general public, the private sector and inquiries have been coming in from all over the globe. Matt Lindenberg, Founder and President, and his Program Director Kate Vannelli are working hard on the Future Rangers program and we are working with four schools and reaching 2,000 students. We are in the process of rolling out a high-school program in 4 more schools and we have connected to the Southern African Wildlife College for post-graduation opportunities which means we can now follow elementary students all the way up to the university level. This is huge progress and I have been very impressed by the speed of this progression. We are seeing great momentum.

How would you like to see things evolve in the future?

There are a lot of people and organizations working in conservation. There are big meetings going on all over the world, such as the IUCN Congress with some heads of state, which invites 15,000 participants, and there is another conference planned on biodiversity in China. But it seems there is more talking than action. I don’t want to point the finger, but while everyone is discussing the issues, Indonesia is still burning, the Amazon is still losing trees at a frightening rate. The issues are so important but who can change things? I really feel that the private sector needs to step up. I have worked in this world and I know the size of some marketing budgets. It wouldn’t cost much to support a great cause, and as many brands are looking to attract younger consumers to their products, why not reach them through an amazing cause that they can identify with. It is a win-win situation.

Has conservation always interested you?

Wildlife has always had my full attention. The pivotal moment in my early childhood was when my parents took me for a day trip to visit friends at Sabi Sands Reserve, which borders the world-famous Kruger National Park. We were quite an active family; always hiking, cycling, canoeing and spending time outdoors. On this particular excursion, we were visiting a friend’s lodge having lunch, when two of the field rangers offered to take me with them for a short walk. These weren’t the usual field guides that often interact with tourists, but rather field rangers that the public rarely sees. They offered to have me tag along for the afternoon and we saw lion tracks, hippos, and a Mozambique spitting cobra. They made me walk past the snake with my eyes closed. To this day, I don’t know if they were teasing me or genuinely looking out for my safety, but the experience stayed with me and inspired me at a deep level. I hope our work at GCC can have the same impact on children today. 

As a teenager, did this passion for conversation continue?

I had rather troubled teenage years. There was a bus crash that really impacted the tourism industry and our guest house and my parents’ business folded. We lost the house, my parents got divorced and my sister and I went to the US with our Dad. The years passed and I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I was into snowboarding and tennis. During high school, I got a scholarship to play tennis. I was in the top 100 in Southern California, but an injury suddenly put an end to that. I also loved flying and wanted to be a fighter pilot so I decided to study mechanical engineering to pursue a flying career, only to find out that I was color blind and would never be able to fly professionally. So, I quit university and decided to return to South Africa to visit my mom. We spent a few days in the bush where we came across some of Africa’s most iconic species like lions, cheetah and elephants. It was during this trip that I became reacquainted with my deepest passion; wildlife and conservation. A few weeks later, I said goodbye to the US, packed up all my belongings and turned in my US green card. The next week I enrolled in a field guide training course at the Southern African Wildlife College.

What was your first conservation job?

During my training at the Wildlife College, a family friend offered me a field guiding job at a 5-star lodge. However, upon qualification, I called the family friend only to be answered by his secretary with the unapologetic fact that the position had been filled. So here I was in South Africa, after leaving everything in the US behind me, with a guiding qualification and no employment to speak of. It was horrible. Around a month later, I was going to join my grandmother for our usual mediation class and it was canceled at the last minute. So, she said “let’s go gambling and have a night out!” So off we went to the casino at Cesar’s Palace at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo airport. I remember sitting there with my grandmother when I saw Theresa Sowry, the CEO of the Southern African Wildlife College, walk through the immense crowd of people. I ran over to her to say hi and she asked how the job was going. I explained that it didn’t work out and that I was unemployed and she said: “On Monday, come and work with me as a volunteer.”  Theresa was a role model for me and this was the moment when everything changed.

What happened next?

I worked for the Wildlife College for the next six years, first as a volunteer, and then guiding guests and teaching English to children in the surrounding communities. This experience was invaluable as I got an insight into how things work in the local schools and communities. Concurrently, I enrolled at the University of South Africa, and studied in the evenings after long days in the bush. I received a BSc in Zoology and Geography which qualified me to assist in training reserve managers, guides and field rangers. I eventually managed to earn my conservation pilots license, which was one of my most rewarding experiences to date. Those were my formative years. I learned so much. From there, I was offered a Master’s degree scholarship from Grand Valley State University, Michigan. My research was conducted with the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia, and I investigated the introduction of seven captive-raised cheetahs back onto Namibian farmlands.

What inspired you to start your own conservation organization?

My inspiration comes from two places. Firstly, in 2008, I was in the dining hall of the Wildlife College when I saw this Zulu man, Martin Mthembu, one of the most respected ranger trainers, sitting alone. People were constantly going up to him to say hello and pay their respects. I knew this man was someone special, and so I sheepishly asked if I could join him for lunch. Martin was to become my mentor, taking me under his wing. He saved my life three times, twice from lions and once from a black mamba. During his career, he trained over 15,000 rangers throughout Africa and spoke nine languages fluently. He would take frustrated youth and inspire them to create a better life for themselves. He was a shining star where shining stars didn’t exist. He influenced so many people and rangers from all walks of life, and there were countless amazing stories about him. On the 2nd August, 2014, he died tragically in a car accident and I was devastated. I wanted to be a voice and continue his legacy so it wouldn’t be buried with him. I couldn’t stop thinking about all those unpolished gems who had not yet met Martin.

The second inspiration came from a very different collection of experiences. I started to notice that the people working in conservation were either foreign, wealthy and/or privileged individuals who were paying large amounts of money to volunteer and “make a difference”. And while these individuals certainly have an important role to play, local people could never afford to pay these amounts of money for exclusive conservation experiences. It was wrong on so many levels. Local youth were not seeing the animals and they were lacking empathy for them as a result. Sometimes, people are quick to blame others, without rarely putting themselves in their shoes. Thinking from the perspective of an impoverished and uneducated individual; if I had no future, living in a place with poor infrastructure, little food, and my parents were sick, I would do whatever I could to survive. And if the only chance of survival means snaring an impala or killing a rhino, then what would you do? Unless we involve the local people who live next to wildlife, we will never win this war.

You have produced a documentary called Rhino Man; can you tell us about this project?

Rhino Man was the first project I started. The idea was to create a short video to tell the world about the rangers. When we started, very few people were talking about the rangers and about how they were sacrificing their lives to protect the rhinos. It is an important story to tell. The making of this film has been really hard and we still haven’t finished the final product. But at the end of the day, the mission was to honor Martin and tell the ranger story. If it hadn’t been for John Jurko II, one of the film’s directors, the story wouldn’t have evolved in the way it has. There have been so many amazing people that have supported this film since its inception, and I cannot wait for this message to get out into the world!

How has GCC evolved since the Rhino Man project?

During filming, we were always supporting the rangers with backpacks, watches, boots, all kinds of tactical equipment really, which enabled us to build an amazing relationship with the rangers and the management of the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve. One day when we were filming in 2017, I noticed that one of the most senior rangers, Anton, was looking really down. I asked him what was up and we sat down with his right-hand man and he shared his concerns saying “How long can we hold the line, buying time? What is the world doing? We work such long hours, for little pay, in dangerous conditions, and this isn’t going to fix the problem.” He shared that he was almost 50 years old and how local children are becoming further and further disconnected from nature and wildlife. Even his own kids were not seeing wildlife very often. He shared with me that this concern was even greater than rhino poaching because who would replace him and his rangers? Will the next generation care more or less about these wild spaces, and would they be more corruptible when bribed? Anton asked GCC to focus more on the youth and to ensure than the next generation of community conservationists cared, had empathy, and wanted wildlife to exist. This is the origin story of the Future Rangers Program.

How does the Future Rangers project work?

Over the last two years, we have been working with four primary schools, next to the Kruger National Park. We partner with a local facilitator who works with each school. The schools teach children from the ages of five to 13 and the facilitators are qualified environmental educators. They are at school every day, and every single kid has one lesson per week. But we want to make sure that the children are not only hearing about it but seeing it too, so we organize game drives, have guest lecturers visit the schools, and encourage extra-curricular conservation activities.

What are you working on right now?

This week is quite exciting as we are starting to work in four high schools. We want to follow the students we have taught in primary school and ensure this environmental program and support continues as the children move through their high school years. High schools are the forgotten land when it comes to environmental education, and this is where we prepare the next generation of leaders entering the job market. To address a gap in the education material, we have built a curriculum with our partners (Africa foundation), which is aligned with the South African government’s standards for education. We now reach over 4,000 children collectively every week. Moving forward, our goal is to scale this program by bringing on more and more implementation partners, who see the value in investing in youth surrounding conservation areas.

What are you most excited about?

I think the four new high schools get me really excited. In our area, this approach has not been done before at this scale and quality. We also have new partnerships with the Africa Foundation and the Southern African Wildlife College. The further along I get on this journey, the more I realize the immense value of partnerships and working together. At the end of the day, we are all on the same team, and embracing this reality is what is required to truly move mountains.

However, it is sometimes the little things that make me excited. At Christmas, we took our team out for an end of year celebration and they all got dressed up and were so proud and we went out to a fancy restaurant. I dropped off one of the facilitators, who is an amazing teacher, home after the party and she told me that she wouldn’t want to be doing anything else than what she is doing right now and I realized that touching one person’s life in a meaningful way is the best reward. Seeing that you’ve made a difference to someone else’s life, that is just strength and pure joy for me.