On one Saturday each October, a (hopefully!) sunny corner of San Francisco buzzes with the energy of more than a thousand people who want to help save endangered wildlife. The occasion is the Wildlife Conservation Expo, where conservationists and wildlife organizations from around the globe come together for a day of talks, exhibits and learning from each other.
The 2013 Expo featured Dr. Jane Goodall as keynote speaker. Dr Goodall opened her talk by imitating the sound of the chimpanzee. “I look forward to coming to this event because I meet so many amazing people – I call them my people,” she said. “I think every single person here cares about animals in some way or another.” She is undoubtedly correct about this.
The Expo attendees who are perhaps most devoted to animals are the wildlife conservationists who traveled to San Francisco from around the world to share their stories with the audience. These wildlife heroes live in far-flung places and often carry out their work in challenging conditions.
When they travel to Expo, the conservationists spend time in a series of workshops with WCN that help them grow their organizations and impacts. This year’s workshops, held the week prior to the Expo, covered topics such as leadership, microfinance for conservation, grantwriting and the use of conservation detection dogs.
As the conservationists fly back to their homes around the world we are watching the videos of the talks we missed and already thinking about next year’s Expo – save the date for Saturday, October 11 2014!
If you had your picture taken with Jane Goodall, you can access the photos on Flickr. A big thank you to photographer Ron Henggeler for providing the photos!
Expo 2013 Speaker List
Jane Goodall, Ph.D., DBE, Founder the Jane Goodall Institute & UN Messenger of Peace
Dr. Iain Douglas Hamilton, Save the Elephants
Rebecca Klein, Cheetah Conservation Botswana
Dr. Rachel Graham, Wildlife Conservation Society, Gulf & Caribbean Sharks & Rays Program
Shivani Bhalla, Ewaso Lions
Dr. Colleen Begg, Niassa Lion Project
Elena Bykova, Saiga Conservation Alliance
Dr. Jim Sanderson, Small Cat Conservation Alliance
Dr. Claudio Sillero, Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Program
Belinda Mackey & Peter Lalampaa, Grevy’s Zebra Trust
Lilian Villalba & Dr. Juan Reppucci, Andean Cat Alliance
Dr. Rodney Jackson, Snow Leopard Conservancy
Rosamira Guillen, Proyecto Tití (cotton-top tamarin)
Dr. Greg Rasmussen & Peter Blinston, Painted Dog Conservation
John Lukas, Okapi Conservation Project
Raoul du Toit, Lowveld Rhino Trust/International Rhino Federation