Africa Section Board of Directors
The Africa Section of the Society for Conservation Biology has an international following of members that support conservation on the African continent. The board of directors is an elected body that facilitates the goals and activities of the Section.
Future Members
If you are interested in being a member of the African Board you must be a member of SCB and a member of the Section. Generally two-to-four board members are elected annually. The Call for Nominations goes out in September or October and the election runs in October or November. Section members receive an email about the open positions and the start of the election process.
Current Board Members
Israel Borokini, President, SCB Africa Section
Postdoctoral Scholar, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States
David H Smith Conservation Research Fellow (2021-2023)
Israel is the President of SCB Africa Section. He is currently a Postdoctoral scholar in the University and Jepson Herbaria, Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley. His research focuses on the spatial phylogenetics of the North American vascular flora with conservation implications. He is also a fellow of the United Nations' Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Sustainable Use of Wild Species assessment. Israel earned his PhD in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology from the University of Nevada, Reno. His broad research interests include plant ecology and biogeography, spatial phylogenetics, ecological modeling, and conservation biology. He has also worked for the Nigeria's National Center for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, managing the country's native flora.
Term ends on 31 December 2022
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Badru Mugerwa, President-elect, SCB Africa Section and ICCB 2021 Steering Committee Chair
Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, University of Oxford & Institute of Tropical Forest Conservation, Mbarara University of Science and Technology
United Kingdom and Uganda
Badru trained in wildlife ecology and conservation at the University of Western Ontario, Canada, University of Oxford, UK, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Uganda, and Makerere University, Uganda. He is a research associate at the Institute of Tropical Forest Conservation (ITFC) in Uganda. Badru’s research focuses on human impacts on biodiversity and protected area management in human dominated landscapes.
Term ends on 31 December 2022
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Margaret Awuor Owuor, Education and Science Officer
South Eastern Kenya University
Kenya
Margaret is a scholar and environment scientist focusing on aquatic ecosystems and ecosystem services. She Lecturers in the School of Water Resources Science and Technology, South Eastern Kenya University. She completed her PhD (2017) from the University of Cadiz, Spain. She has carried research on enhancing community involvement and participation in conservation through education and tree planting.
Term ends on 31 December 2024
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Michelle Fasona, Financial Monitoring and Evaluation Officer
University of Lagos, Nigeria
Fasona Michelle completed her Ph.D. at the University of Lagos, Nigeria. Her dissertation focused on landscape ecology modelling, landscape genetics and habitat connectivity for Large mammals in selected forest reserves in South-West, Nigeria. She is currently the Financial Monitoring and evaluation Officer
Term ends on 31 December 2024
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Frowin Becker, Information Officer
PhD Candidate, Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand
Frowin is an early career conservation scientist from Namibia, busy completing a PhD in Conservation Biology at the Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. Over the years, his research has focused on conservation technology, and he is currently concentrating his efforts on using sound (particularly avian sound) to monitor environmental changes. Since 2016, Frowin has been working for the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness as a field technician and data scientist, helping the project collate a biodiversity baseline for the Okavango River basin. As the Information Officer, Frowin manages the Section's mailing list and social media platforms, as well as mining and sharing of information such as research, scholarships, and jobs among members.
Term ends on 31 December 2024.
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Christine Wilkinson, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Officer
Postdoctoral Researcher, University of California, Berkeley
Christine is a conservation biologist and carnivore ecologist, and is the co-founder of Black Mammalogists Week. Her research interests include human-wildlife conflict, carnivore movement ecology, multidisciplinary GIS, and using participatory methods for more effective and inclusive conservation outcomes. She has spent the last decade working in conservation biology and natural resource management around the USA and in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, and has also served in various capacities as an informal educator. Her current research focuses on socio-ecological drivers of carnivore movement, conflict, and coexistence in the Bay Area and in Kenya. Christine is appointed as the Section's DEI Officer to help develop the Office and the Section's DEI policy.
Term ends on 31 December 2022.
Janette Wallis, Member-at-large # 1
Lecturer, Environmental Studies Program, University of Oklahoma
United States and Uganda
Janette serves as the SCB-Africa Section’s Member at Large #1 and is tasked with re-energizing the Young Women in Conservation Biology network. She has worked in education, research, and conservation projects throughout Africa, including in Tanzania, Gabon, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Equatorial Guinea, and Uganda. Janette currently directs the Kasokwa-Kityedo Forest Project in a network of forest fragments in Uganda. Research at the site focuses on primate behavioral ecology, reproduction, conservation, and human-wildlife interactions. Janette earned her Ph.D. in zoology, psychology, and anthropology from the University of Oklahoma, where she teaches wildlife conservation courses.
Term ends on 31 December 2024
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Jean Bernard Ndayambaje, Member-at-Large #2
Senior Lecturer and Head of Department, Chemistry Department, University of Rwanda
Bernard is a Senior Lecturer and Head of the Chemistry Department at the University of Rwanda. He completed his Ph.D. in Biotechnology at the Anna University, India. His research interests include extraction and purification of biologically active compounds from natural resources, screening for therapeutic uses against various disorders, detailed study on the molecular mechanism of action using various cell-based assay systems. Additionally, he also conducts research on the enzyme-assisted extraction of important compounds from spices and fruits for crop improvement and disease resistance. He is the Member-at-Large #2 and will be responsible for managing the Section's physical office in Rwanda.
Term ends on 31 December 2024.
Jean Aimé Ruticumugambi, Member-at-large #3
Ph.D. candidate, Ghent University, Belgium
Lecturer at Rwanda Polytechnic, Integrated Polytechnic Regional College (IPRC), Kitabi
Rwanda
Jean Aimé is a landscape ecologist fascinated by the patterns and determinants of species richness and composition in space and time in both natural and human-modified landscapes and largely in tropical agricultural landscapes. Jean Aimé is a Lecturer at Rwanda Polytechnic, Integrated Polytechnic Regional College (IPRC), Kitabi, and he is on study leave for a Doctoral study in Bioscience Engineering at Ghent University in Belgium. Jean Aimé is a member of various professional organizations, as well as Secretary of SCB Rwanda Chapter, Honorary research fellow of University of Rwanda in the center of Excellence in Biodiversity and Natural resources management (UR-CoEB). Jean Aimé serves as the SCB-Africa Section’s Member at Large #3 and Students representative. He is currently pursuing a PhD research on landscape scale impact of agroforestry on functional biodiversity in Rwanda.
Term ends on 31 December 2024.
James Watuwa, Membership and Nominations Officer
Zoo/wildlife veterinarian, Uganda Wildlife Conservation Education Centre
Founder, Elgon Wildlife Conservation Organization Uganda
Dr. James Watuwa is a wildlife veterinarian and conservationist. He earned his bachelor’s degree in veterinary medicine at Makerere University Uganda. In 2018, Dr. James Watuwa earned a Veterinary-track scholarship under the Wildlife Conservation Network Scholarship Program and this saw him complete his Master’s Degree of science in wildlife health and management of Makerere university. Throughout his five years of veterinary school, he donated his time to the Uganda Wildlife Conservation Education Centre (Entebbe -Zoo). He reprised this role helping to care for endangered mountain gorillas and other wildlife when he served as wildlife Veterinarian at Conservation Through Public Health in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park , and Uganda Wildlife Authority. In 2018, he started working with the International Gorilla Conservation Program and currently works as a zoo/wildlife veterinarian at Uganda Wildlife Conservation Education Centre. Dr. James Watuwa is a founder of Elgon Wildlife Conservation Organization, Uganda’s first organization dedicated exclusively to amphibian conservation.
Term ends on 31 December 2022.
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