2026 #ParrotCrisis Summit Speakers

Nick Byaba  is the Founder of the Parrot Tree Caretakers Association & Bigodi Grey Parrot Museum in Uganda. He advocates for the protection of African Grey Parrots through community action, rescue, and public education. He is dedicated to ensuring a future where parrots and people thrive together.

Lieth holds a degree in anthropology from Andes University, with a specialization in law and state. She has experience in researching and monitoring organized crime dynamics, particularly those related to wildlife trafficking and environmental crimes, using data-based methods, OSINT tools, and community engagement. She has collaborated with various media outlets on investigations aimed at uncovering cases of transnational corruption and illegal trafficking networks.

Andrew N. Gweh is a Liberian conservation ornithologist with over seven years of field experience in field ornithology, wildlife monitoring, and ecological surveys across Liberia. He holds an M.Sc. in Biodiversity Conservation from Njala University and a B.Sc. in Forestry from the University of Liberia. Andrew contributes to the Southern African Bird Atlas Project 2 (SABAP2). His field portfolio includes serving as an Avifauna Specialist and field assistant alongside Conservation International, the University of Kansas, Fauna & Flora, and Enviro-Insight, executing diurnal and nocturnal bird surveys, evaluating environmental impact along major infrastructure corridors, and engaging local communities to protect endangered species like the Timneh parrot.

Nancy J . Jacobs is a specialist in African history, environmental history and animal history. A former president of the American Society for Environment History, she is author of the forthcoming "The Global Grey Parrot: How a Charismatic African Animal Became an International Commodity" (University of Washington Press, 2027).

Dr. Latas works with the wild parrots of southern California. She serves on the Steering Team for Parrot Researchers Group and is Co-Chair of the IUCN SSC Wild Parrot specialist Group. Her interests are wild urban parrots in conservation, the health and recovery of parrots confiscated from the pet trade, and the health, welfare, well-being, conservation and preservation of wild parrots across the earth.

Dr. Asha Poonia has over a decade of experience in zoological research and education. Her research focuses on wildlife trade, biodiversity conservation and wildlife law and policy, with particular emphasis on understanding and addressing illegal wildlife trade and strengthening conservation responses. She is a Founder Member and Co-coordinator of the Trade & Use Subgroup of the IUCN SSC Wild Parrot Specialist Group and has contributed research that has been cited in CITES-related policy discussions.

Johanne was drawn into parrot research and conservation investigating the adaptation and survival of wild Amazon parrots in Germany. It was during that time that they joined the Parrot Researchers Group, which they currently lead with the PRG Steering Team as elected Secretary. In 2016 Johanne attained a PhD investigating Beak and Feather Disease in wild parrots, before being hired by BirdLife Australia for a post-bushfire assessment on Ground Parrots. She spent several years working for Zoos Victoria's Orange-bellied Parrot recovery program.

Shankar Shivappa received his B.Tech in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, in 2004 and his PhD. from the University of California, San Diego in 2010. Shankar has always nurtured his childhood passion in wildlife and conservation by volunteering at various organizations. Notably, from 2022 to 2024, he was the President of the San Diego Tracking Team, a non-profit dedicated to the monitoring and conservation of wildlife and wild areas in San Diego. He's engaged with the San Diego Zoological society's wildlife camera monitoring program where he uses his skills as an animal tracker to help monitor their local wildlife refuge. Between 2012 and 2015, he was the chair of Conservation Corps, a volunteer group based at the Oregon Zoo. He is also actively involved in the wildlife rescue and rehabilitation division of the San Diego Humane Society, previously known as Project Wildlife. Shankar has deep connections with several land trusts such as the Columbia Land Trust and the San Diego River Park Foundation, where he volunteers on various projects to help conserve natural lands for the benefit of wildlife and future human generations. 

Andrea Thomen is a Dominican conservation biologist for Grupo Jaragua, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of biodiversity, threatened species, and ecosystems in the Dominican Republic. Her primary interests are Hispaniolan bird conservation, with a focus on both endemic and migratory species, environmental education, citizen science, and community engagement. She has contributed to collaborative strategic conservation planning processes within the Jaragua-Bahoruco-Enriquillo Biosphere Reserve, helping integrate community perspectives into conservation strategies. Andrea also serves as Acting President of the regional nonprofit BirdsCaribbean and Co-Chair of the Caribbean Parrot Working Group, where she works to strengthen regional conservation capacity, collaboration, and island-to-island exchange across the Caribbean.

Shaolili Zhang is the founder and director of Protect the Parrots, a China-based organization dedicated to addressing the illegal parrot trade and improving the welfare of parrots in captivity.

Liz Cabrera Holtz is an attorney and the Senior Campaigns Manager at World Animal Protection, where she oversees their campaign to end the exploitation of wild animals in the pet trade. Her work focuses on leveraging policy and mobilizing animal advocates to make concrete change for animals.

Charley works for the Bob Brown Foundation as an ecologist to document threatened species in native forests of Tasmania (Australia) that are earmarked for logging. He uses a combination of active surveys and passive acoustic monitoring. His focus species include the Critically Endangered Swift Parrot and the Vulnerable Blue-winged Parrot.​

Dan Howie is an ecologist and the Operations Manager at Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari. He oversees biosecurity and species recovery across a 3,400-hectare pest-free mainland sanctuary. Working closely with the Department of Conservation, Dan has led the on-the-ground management of the landmark kākāpō reintroduction program, directing health checks, monitoring networks, and habitat protections to secure population recovery. At the summit, he will share insights into combating invasive predator threats and habitat loss to safeguard Aotearoa New Zealand’s rarest parrots, including kakapo and kaka.

LoraKim Joyner empowers the people saving the planet. She stands in solidarity and witness to the plight of the parrots and people where One Earth works with others – currently in Brazil, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, and Suriname. She is a member of the Association of Avian Veterinarians, Loros Sin Fronteras, Parrot Researchers Group, and Parrot Conservation Alliance.

Dr Jess is a conservation biologist with a paraveterinary background and a specific interest in birds. She works with conservation partners across Southeast Asia around the preservation of bird species that are threatened by habitat loss and especially the illegal and unsustainable bird trade. She believes that building capacity in conservation partners in the region, working as a collective in a one-plan approach (in and ex situ conservation), and finding sustainability in conservation programmes are key inthe recovery of avian species in the wild.

Sylvia Margarita de la Parra Martínez is a biologist with a Ph.D. from UNAM and over 17 years of experience in parrot conservation. She works at One Earth Conservation as a project management assistant, supporting conservation initiatives in Latin America.

Dayana Serrano is a Honduran veterinarian with postgraduate training from the Professional Master’s Program in Wildlife Conservation and Biodiversity (MACOVIB) at the National University of Costa Rica. Her career has focused on wildlife conservation, integrating veterinary medicine, applied research, rehabilitation, reproduction, and biodiversity management.

Anindya Sinha’s principal research encompasses the behavioural ecology, cognitive ethology, population genetics, evolutionary biology, urban ecologies, ethnobiology, and conservation studies of Indian nonhuman primates and various other beings. His obsession with natural philosophies, art heritage, and performance studies involves ethnographic explorations of the lived experiences of non/humans, promising historical and current understandings of local and indigenous more-than-human lifeworlds.

Karen oversees operations at Foster Parrots, Ltd. and The New England Exotic Wildlife Sanctuary, 501(c)3 non-profit organization located in Rhode Island. The largest bird sanctuary in the Northeast United States, Foster Parrots is dedicated to the rescue and protection of unwanted and abused companion parrots and other displaced captive exotic animals.