Wildlife Conservation Network

April 24, 2021

8 am PDT

WCN protects endangered wildlife by supporting conservationists who ensure wildlife and people coexist and thrive around the world. By identifying and vetting exceptional conservationists, we act as a bridge between your best intentions and our conservation partners’ biggest needs. Our donation model allows 100% of any donation designated for a specific species to go directly to our Partners in the field with zero overhead, which means every dollar that you donate counts toward that species’ conservation. Our collaborative efforts also extend to conservation organizations beyond our Network through our Wildlife Funds, our Scholarship program, and guest speakers and exhibitors at our Wildlife Conservation Expos.

thank you!

16 mins

SPEAKERS

Dr. Jean-Gael "JG" Collomb

Executive Director

With over two decades of experience in the non-profit sector, JG's focus has been at the interface between wildlife conservation and development issues. He joined WCN in 2012 and provides strategic leadership to enhance WCN’s overall impacts, sustainability and growth. Originally from Paris, France, JG started his career working with inspiring ecologists studying chimps, gorillas, and mandrills and dodging the occasional elephant in Gabon. At the World Resources Institute, he managed an NGO network to monitor logging companies in Central Africa. He returned to Gabon with the Wildlife Conservation Society to help the development of national parks and ecotourism. For his Ph.D., JG studied the effects of tourism on people’s wellbeing around protected areas in northeastern Namibia. JG is thrilled to combine all of his interests through his work at WCN. 

Charles Knowles

President, Co-founder

Charlie is the President and Co-Founder of the Wildlife Conservation Network (WCN), which has advanced a powerful new model of wildlife conservation. Charlie retired early as a successful Stanford-educated entrepreneur in Silicon Valley. He founded software company Rubicon Technology in 1989 and sold it in 1994. His retirement lasted six days, until he launched full-time into applying his business acumen and experience to wildlife conservation. In the 1990s, Charlie helped the Cheetah Conservation Fund and the Snow Leopard Conservancy grow into world-class conservation programs, which led to the formation of the Wildlife Conservation Network in 2002. The synthesis of creativity and practicality in Charlie’s’ approach has inspired thousands of passionate donors, as well as a rising generation of conservation pioneers.

Photography credit: A.L. Harrington