Trustee from Kenya

Career Snapshot

Dr Paula Kahumbu is one of Africa’s best-known wildlife conservationists. Dr Kahumbu is the CEO of WildlifeDirect, a charitable organisation which aims to connect people to nature and wildlife so that they treasure it and act to conserve it. She is also the creator of the Hands Off Our Elephants campaign with Kenya’s First Lady Margaret Kenyatta, as well as the producer and host of Wildlife Warriors, Africa’s first wildlife documentary series made by Africans. She formerly worked for the Kenya Wildlife Service heading up the research and parks departments, and Lafarge Eco Systems, the environmental arm of Bamburi Cement. She has won numerous awards and received a special commendation at the United Nations Person of the Year celebrations for her role in raising awareness of the crisis facing elephants in Kenya. She is a lecturer at Princeton University, is the Rolex National Geographic Explorer of the Year, winner of the Whitley Gold Award, and is a National Geographic Emerging Explorer. She holds a PhD in Ecology from Princeton University.