Landscapes / Regions

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Virginia Young

Director of the International Forests and Climate Program, ARCS

Virginia is currently Director of the International Forests and Climate Program for the Australian Rainforest Conservation Society (ARCS), contributing to the international policy component of a global research program on primary forests lead by Griffith University in Australia. Building understanding about the linkages between the Climate and Biodiversity Crises and the urgent need to tackle both crises together is a feature of her work.

She is Chair of Gondwanalink Ltd, and a member of the Board of the Great Eastern Ranges Initiative - organisations that provide leadership for two of the world’s foremost ecological connectivity protection and restoration initiatives - in the south of Western Australia and along the eastern seaboard of Australia, respectively. Read More
She is also on the Board of the Partnership for Policy Integrity – a US science based organization highlighting the adverse climate and biodiversity impacts of burning wood for power; and a member of the steering committee of an international, science based collaborative initiative called IntAct – focused on increasing global attention on the climate and biodiversity imperative to protect and restore Earth’s primary forests.

She is a past president of the Australian Committee of IUCN and supports a number of IUCN global initiatives, including as a member of the IUCN Task Force on primary forests and intact forest landscapes.

She has led innovative nature conservation programs in Australia and was awarded the Wild Magazine ‘Environmentalist of the Year’ in 2001 for her work to protect Australia’s forests and recognized as one of 20 global visionaries by the Wild Foundation in 2010 for her work pioneering connectivity conservation programs in Australia.

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John Burton

Global landscapes & biodiversity, Anthropology, sustainable agriculture, impact investments

22nd May 2022. In memory of John Burton. A remarkable man who dedicated his life to our planet.

We will miss you.
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Alberto Yanosky

Global landscapes & biodiversity, Anthropology, sustainable agriculture, impact investments

Dr. Alberto Yanosky is one of South America's leading experts in the protection of biological diversity, and in efforts to support sustainable livelihoods and economic activity while protecting intact wilderness. He has led internationally recognized efforts on supporting farmers to produce truly sustainable beef that breaks the link with deforestation. Alberto is a key adviser to Forever Wild and Forever Wild (Europe) on the development of large-scale investment into Forever Wild's integrated landscape model in the region. He is the current Honorary Chair for BirdLife International for the Americas and Chair of the IUCN Paraguayan Committee. Alberto also consults to the World Bank, UNDP and Food & Agriculture Organisation. Read More
Alberto is the author of more than 100 scientific papers and several chapters and books and his career has been globally recognized. He has received an Honorable Mention in Science by the Paraguayan National Congress for his contribution to the "Wetlands of Paraguay", and in 2013 was awarded the National Geographic Society/Buffett Award for Leadership in Latin American Conservation. He holds the Order to the Merit in the Grade of Commendator, awarded by the Paraguayan Government and has recently been awarded awarded with “Wings of the Americas” by the US Forest Service due to his efforts in international cooperation to stem deforestation. He was named as a Leader in Biodiversity Conservation by the Government of Panamá.

Economics

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Neil MacLeod

Wilderness Economics, Restoration Agriculture & Pastoralism

Neil is presently the Principal of Karingal Systems, a private consultancy service that is focussed on farming systems research projects covering the grazing lands of northern Australia and smallholder farming systems in Africa and Asia.For over 25 years Neil was a Principal Research Scientist with the CSIRO acting both as a researcher and project leader for many multidisciplinary R,D & E projects covering animal production and grazing management, farm business economics, investment analysis, natural resource valuation, conservation biology and landscape ecology. He has also worked with projects aimed at improving the productivity of smallholder farming systems in South Africa, Zimbabwe, India and Indonesia. He was formerly an Associate Editor for Tropical Grasslands and the Rangeland Journal.

Global Biodiversity

Chip Barber

Charles 'Chip' Barber

Senior Global Biodiversity Adviser, World Resources Institute

Charles “Chip” Barber is a global leader in the protection of the Earth’s remaining intact forests, and in social safeguard policies. He served as Forest Chief in the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. He led U.S. diplomacy on forest policy, working with numerous governments and intergovernmental agencies and processes. Chip was instrumental in developing debt-for-nature swap deals worth over $100 million for Brazil, Costa Rica, Indonesia, and the Philippines. In 2013, Chip negotiated a U.S.-Indonesia MOU on Wildlife Conservation and Combating Wildlife Trafficking, which was signed by Secretary of State John Kerry and the Indonesian Minister of Forestry in February 2014. In 2012, Chip chaired the Asia Forest Partnership, and since 2013-2015 supervised the U.S. term as chair of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership. Read More
On the multilateral front, Chip has frequently served as chair in multilateral negotiations. During the Rio+20 process he chaired the text negotiations for the chapters of the Rio+20 outcome document “The Future We Want” on Poverty, Food Security, Forests, Biodiversity, and Mountains. He also chaired key outcomes at UNFF on several occasions. From 2005-2009 at USAID, Chip represented the agency in multilateral processes including the Convention on Biological Diversity, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, CITES, and the Global Environment Facility (GEF). At USAID he also co-designed the $40 million Coral Triangle support program, and USAID’s strategies for climate change in the Asia-Pacific and natural resources and environment for Indonesia. At both USAID and the State Department, Chip has been a key member of the U.S. government inter-agency process scrutinizing multilateral development bank projects and policies with respect to environmental and social safeguard policies.

Chip worked as a consultant with a wide variety of organizations including the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, UN University, NRDC, IUCN, IFC, UNDP, UNEP, and The Nature Conservancy.

Chip received his B.A. in Legal Studies from the University of Massachusetts, his M.A. in Asian Studies, J.D., and Ph.D. in Jurisprudence and Social Policy from the University of California at Berkeley. He is fluent in Bahasa Indonesia.

Storyteller

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Tobias Baumgaertner

Film & Documentary Maker

Tobias Baumgaertner is a multi-award winning videographer who maintains a deep interest in the natural world, the idea of wilderness and the human societies that still survive in the Earth’s wild places. Tobias has produced some outstanding images and video for Forever Wild, including for our first reserve. He works to capture the incredible scale of the planet’s remaining wildernesses, from the miniscule beauty of tiny flowers and invertebrates all the way to the spectacular star-scapes that still convey the camp-fire stories of many human societies. Tobias has worked with Australia’s Indigenous peoples and has spent long weeks in remote areas of Outback Australia. He has traveled extensively worldwide.

FOREVER WILD (charity) STAFF

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Fiachra Kearney

CEO

 

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Fiachra oversees the strategic direction of the organisation and is also the founder of the Forever Wild initiative. He has a lifelong interest in complex systems thinking and innovation.

Prior to launching Forever Wild, Fiachra was the director of a private company engaged in tracking organised wildlife and human trafficking, and providing specialised services to diverse clients across Asia, Africa and the Americas. He has been Head of Africa for a private risk management firm, but his early career was as a scientist for the CSIRO in rangeland ecology. He holds a Master of Science.
If you meet Fiachra note that he loves a good cuppa. He is fascinated by invertebrates and space.

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Neil MacLeod

Bio-economic Modeler / Agricultural Economist

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Neil works to map out the economics of our Shared Earth Reserves, with a particular focus on low-impact livestock, protecting key ecological processes and biological diversity. He is a former Principle Research Scientist with CSIRO, Editor of the Rangeland Journal and an Honorary Fellow of CISRO's Food and Nutrition Security program.
If you meet Neil note that he loves drinking tea and having a chat about Australian and African landscapes
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Karen Allan

Senior Communications and Corporate Partnerships Specialist

 

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Karen is originally from Barranquilla (Colombia) and migrated to Australia in 2005. She is the Senior Fundraiser and Corporate Relations Specialist for Forever Wild and brings an extensive experience working with government departments, private enterprises and local indigenous communities. She has holds a bachelor of Administracion de Empresas (Business Administration) with Major in Negocios Internacionales (International Business) from Universidad del Norte in Colombia, and Masters in International Business (MIB) from Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Karen is equally passionate about the environment, social equality and Indigenous rights.

In 2015, she was chosen amongst 150 leaders to be part of Climate Reality group in Australia. Since then, she has implemented international policies with First Nations Wayuu tribe based in La Guajira (Colombia) promoting innovative ways to ensure children access to education about climate change.

Her international experience has allowed her to gain brand presence and recognition worldwide. Karen got appointed to represent Australia as the dedicated publicist and relation specialist for Women Fashion Film Festival in New York. As fashion curator, Karen has engaged with indigenous artisans from Colombia (Wayuu and Usiacuri tribes) to sell works made with sustainable materials. These curations provide a pathway for buyers, and create a more conscious way, to shop sustainably.

She has also worked for Variety Queensland and raised much-needed funds for children with a disability during the famous Variety QLD Charity Gala Ball dinner. Furthermore, she was the Industry Consultant for Torrens University and brought blue chip companies to meet students, to create funded placements and increase employability.

Karen has worked with NDIS participants whether advising to set up their own NDIS approved business or obtaining marketing and employment opportunities. As an example, one of her Australian participants secured an exclusive interview with an international online magazine ‘Medium-Authority Magazine’ based in Maryland (USA) with distribution ratings of more than 2 million per media article.

You may also know Karen from cooking reality show ‘Plate of Origin’ from Channel 7 in 2020!

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Michael Hinchcliffe

National Programs Manager

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Michael has extensive experience in Outback Australia in natural resource management, livestock, tourism and applied conservation. He has worked with Forever Wild on our first project in North Queensland for 5 years, and now heads up the rollout of our diverse programs nationally.

Michael is more of a coffee drinker, so don't brew up billy tea for him on our biodiversity surveys or when mustering!

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Bev Vandine

Finance & Admin Manager

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Bev oversees all the core administrative tasks for Forever Wild. With an extensive background in finance, office administration and HR, Bev is one of our most valuable assets.
As seems to the be the growing norm in Forever Wild, Bev consumes extraordinary quantities of tea - super strength, nothing added.