Board of Directors

Director

David Berger

David is a senior partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. David is a member of the firm’s board of directors and chair of the firm’s Pro Bono Committee. David’s practice specializes in corporate governance and related litigation matters, has had a leading role in many of the most prominent corporate control and governance disputes in Silicon Valley and Delaware and has taught corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, and related classes at institutions such as Harvard Law School, Stanford Law School, UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law, and Duke Law School. David is an avid conservationist who feels privileged to be part of the WCN family.

Director

Rosamira Guillen

Rosamira Guillen serves as Executive Director of Fundación Proyecto Tití in Colombia. Trained as an architect, with a master’s degree in landscape architecture and an advanced degree in environmental management, Rosamira began her career in conservation as the Director of the Barranquilla Zoo.  In 2004, she co-founded Fundación Proyecto Tití and attended her first WCN Expo in 2005. Today Rosamira leads the team in Colombia.

Director

Christine Hemrick

Christine retired as an executive of Cisco Systems after 30 years in the high technology industry. She is an avid conservationist and a Trustee of the African Wildlife Foundation. She is also a leading supporter of the Andean Cat Alliance, a multinational group of researchers and conservationists dedicated to conserving the Andean mountain cat.

BOARD CHAIRMAN, CO-FOUNDER

Charles Knowles

Director

Peter Lalampaa

Peter Lalampaa is from Oldonyiro in Isiolo District, Northern Kenya. He joined Grevy’s Zebra Trust in November 2007, with a Bachelor of Environmental Science from Kenyatta University. In 2010 he was awarded a WCN scholarship and went on to earn an MSc in Conservation Biology from the University of Kent, UK. In 2013, Peter was recognized as one of 14 Disney Conservation Heroes for his outstanding contributions to Grevy’s zebra conservation, and most recently was recognized as an Explorer’s Club Top Fifty. As Director of Programs, Peter is a member of GZT’s executive leadership team.

Director, Co-Founder

John Lukas

John, who is currently Director of ​ Conservation for the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens and President of the Okapi Conservation Project and the International Rhino Foundation, has over 35 years of international conservation experience. From his work with okapi in the DR ​Congo to saving rhinos in Indonesia, John has seen first-hand the importance of integrating the needs of local people into effective conservation strategies. He is a co-founder of WCN.

Director

Margaret McCarthy

Margaret joined WCN’s network of donors in response to the elephant ivory crisis and is regularly inspired by the work of WCN conservationists and professionals. Margaret is currently CFO at WideOrbit Inc., the leader in ad tech for premium broadcasters. She focuses on finance, human resources and planning. Prior to WideOrbit, she worked for technology leaders in the Bay Area including Macromedia, Cadence Design Systems and Hewlett Packard. She earned her M.B.A. from Dartmouth and B.A. from Yale. Margaret serves on the boards for KRCB/KPJK Bay Area public media stations and for the Green Music Center at Sonoma State University.

Director

Rebecca Patton

After 20 years in the private sector in Silicon Valley, Rebecca joined The Nature Conservancy in 2001 to pursue her life-long interest in conservation. As a Regional Director she oversaw conservation programs in many parts of the world, from China to Peru to the western United States, and developed a deep appreciation for the importance of community-based conservation. Then as the Chief Conservation Strategies Officer she led TNC’s global policy and science initiatives. She joined WCN in 2010 to contribute her experience to WCN’s innovative and effective model for wildlife conservation. She is on the boards of several other conservation organizations, and in her free time, she also enjoys hiking adventures.

Director

Bill Unger

After graduating from the University of Illinois at Chicago, Bill began his career as a Special Education teacher and worked in Community Mental Health programs before becoming an Executive Recruiter and co-founding his own firm. He joined the Venture Capital industry with Mayfield Fund in 1983 and served in leadership positions on many corporate and not-for profit boards, and continues to advise early stage technology companies. Bill is currently Vice Chair of CARE Enterprises LLC and board member of Microvest. He also serves on the Deans’ Advisory Board of the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Bill loves WCN’s entrepreneurial culture and focus on impact and collaboration.

Director Emeritus, Co-Founder

Akiko Yamazaki

Akiko is a co-founder of WCN who developed her passion for wildlife and wilderness areas during her childhood in Costa Rica. She believes that the goals of conservation are best served by a combination of entrepreneurial energy and commitment to local involvement and development. Akiko and her husband, Jerry Yang, founder of Yahoo, are active supporters of a number of philanthropic organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area. Akiko is the board chair of the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. An avid horsewoman, she also serves on the National Advisory Committee of the United States Equestrian Team Foundation. Additionally, she and her husband are ardent supporters of their alma matter, Stanford University, having co-chaired the $1 billion Campaign for Undergraduate Education and provided the naming gift for the Environment and Energy Building.