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The Team

Our Team members span three continents and are made up of a diverse mixture, allowing all decisions to be made from a wider perspective.

Founder & CEO - Damien Mander

Anti Poaching in ZimbabweDamien served as a Special Operations Sniper and Clearance Diver in the Australian Defence Force. Whilst deployed in Iraq he Project Managed the Iraq Special Police Training Academy, overseeing training of up to 700 cadets at one time. Following 3 years on the frontlines of the Iraq war he departed in 2008 with no new direction in life. A trip to Africa left him face-to-face with the horrors that the worlds wildlife is facing. Liquidating his personal assets from his time in the military, he founded the International Anti-Poaching Foundation. The organisation focuses on ranger training and operations and integrating modern solutions such as drone technology to conservation.

 

Today, he is a soldier turned environmental activist living in Africa. He spends several months each year back home in Australia with family and spreading the word about the environmental struggle we are all facing as a global community.

 

Roger Parry

After 10 years with Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, Roger achieved the rank of Senior Warden at Chizarira National Park. Following his time at Parks, he has spent an additional 15 years in wildlife conservation.

Roger’s experience includes 15 years of using chemical and physical restraint of wildlife for conservation purposes.

Additionally, Roger has extensive experience in the training and deployment of operational anti-poaching units.

 

Cameron Hall

cameronCameron Hall has extensive experience in both management consulting and executive management in large firms. For the last 10 years he has focused on strategy consulting counting some of the Australia, Asia and Africa’s larger corporates as clients. He is the Principal Consultant of the firm T2 Consulting which is based in Australia. He brings significant corporate management experience to the IAPF Board given his background. Cameron holds a Bachelor of Business (Economics) degree from the Queensland University of Technology and earned a Master of Business Administration from the Macquarie Graduate School of Management in 2000.

 

Carmel Reznicsek

Carmel has been the Head of Campus/Deputy Principal at Padua College, Rosebud Campus in Victoria, Australia for 8 years. Previously she worked at its Mornington Campus for 20 years. Carmel has been working in education since 1966.

She is keenly interested in issues concerning people, and is especially passionate about issues affecting young people.

Carmel’s experience in teaching offers great scope to the IAPF’s environmental education programs, which form a fundamental part of conservation.

 

Brett Chaloner

Brett is an officer in the Australian Army. He served with Damien during a dynamic time in our recent military history. Brett is motivated by a love of the bush and the mountains, wildlife of the extreme, and a belief in preserving the natural wonders of our world.

Damien's invitation to join the Board came at a good time for both the IAPF and Brett, as Brett was looking for ways to contribute to a world that he has been fortunate enough to experience in many forms.

As a Board Member, Brett draws on his extensive networks and experiences to benefit the IAPF’s mission.

 

Namo Chuma

Namo ChumaNamo Chuma has been working in the field of environmental management and community development in Zimbabwe for the past 15 years. He has a degree in Development Studies and is currently in his final year of his Masters degree at the University of the Free State in South Africa. Namo has also worked for the Zimbabwe Central Statistical office as a Cartographer, and taught high school geography for five years.

In 1996 Namo became actively involved in environmental management work in Zimbabwe. He is an active member of the Environmental Education Association of Southern Africa and has presented papers on Environmental Education in Zimbabwe at regional and international conferences. Namo is also a board member of the Africa Centre for Holistic Management in Zimbabwe and holds the position of Country Director of Environment Africa.

 

Director of Training Operations - Johan ‘JC’ Strauss

From 1986–1991 Johan ‘JC’ Strauss was the head instructor for the South African Army in Tracking, Bushcraft, and Survival. In 1992, a military unit was formed under the command of JC to counter insurgents and poachers from Mozambique in the Kruger National Park.
In 1998 he launched Eco Ranger, training Wildlife Rangers, Dangerous Game Guides for various Wildlife Parks and organisations such as the Southern African Wildlife College (SAWC) and the Game Rangers Association (GRAA). The first 34 Women Wildlife Rangers for African Countries (Botswana, Mozambique, Zambia, Namibia, Tanzania, Kenya, Swaziland, Lesotho and South Africa) were trained by JC’s organisation Eco Ranger at the SAWC. Eco Ranger trained more than 1,600 Rangers and Wildlife Guides that created job opportunities that support and sustain more than 12,000 African people currently.
In 2005 – 2007, JC trained and developed 350 Wildlife Rangers for Limpopo Parks Board in South Africa and headed the Anti-Poaching teams covering 53 Protected Areas that brought down rhino and elephant poaching to 0% and mammal poaching by a collective 80% for 3 consecutive years.

 

JC is a Facilitator and Assessor with CATHS SETA and SAS SETA that include Conservation Guardianship and Conservation Management, combined with 32 years of Operational Experience.

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Operations Manager - Steven Dean

IMG_9897-1Damien has have worked alongside Steve (Deano) since 2001 when they completed The Clearance Divers course together. They then served in the same platoon at Special Operations before Iraq and Afghanistan where Steve held team leader positions in various parts of the region. In 2009 Steve came to visit Damien in Zimbabwe just after the IAPF was established. Seeing the potential of the project he travelled to Zimbabwe twice more before moving permanently in late 2010. He has since invested considerable funding and time into the project. Steve is now the Operations manager and moves primarily between Victoria Falls, Chizarira and Harare in Zimbabwe.

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Community Conservation - Jason Hartman

Born and raised in the Kwazulu-Natal Midlands in South Africa, singer songwriter

Jason Hartman’s love for music was evident from a very young age. In his teens, Jason and his brother Scott joined their father and formed a 3-pieced band out of pure necessity to survive. They spent a decade together performing at various venues and corporate functions earning their keep through their mind-blowing performances. Jason then broke away and moved to Johannesburg where he began busking for a living.

Soon after this, he put together a 2-pieced duo called Justus, which won the Duo Competition at Tanz Café in Bryanston. This was the beginning of a successful career in the South African music industry.

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Director of Conservation - James Slade

jamesBorn in British Columbia, James grew up surrounded by the wildlife of the Canadian West Coast.

After spending many years living in the Scottish highlands and travelling, James relocated to Africa, where he has since made his home.
Studying and training in Hoedspruit, South Africa, He relocated to Namibia in 2009 and began working with the Cheetah Conservation Fund. James continued to work in the area of reserve management as well as taking on duties such as the releasing and tracking of previously captive held cheetah and the chemical capture (darting) of cheetah alongside veterinary staff. During this time, James became actively interested in the anti-poaching aspects of his work and this led him to contact the IAPF.
During a trip throughout Zimbabwe and Zambia, James met with the IAPF founders and returned several months later to start work full time with the Green Army program and assist in the training where needed.
James holds a diploma in Ethology and is currently studying Nature Conservation further with the University of South Africa. He is also an active member of the Game Rangers or Africa Association.


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Education Committee - Bronwyn Kelly

IAPFBronwyn is the head of the IAPF Education Committee in Australia.

After travelling to Africa and spending time on the frontline with the rangers, she returned to Rose Bay Secondary School in New South Wales where she works as a geography teacher.

Education material developed by Bronwyn has been implemented into Australian schools, teaching children about African savannah, rhinos and the environment.

Bronwyn's philanthropy challenge allows participation of schools towards environmental and humanitarian development.


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Secretary - Sally Bradshaw

sallycropforweb

Sally coordinates all administration in Australia, acting as a focal point for the various subcommittees. For 18 years Sally has worked in not-for-profit organisation administration, governance and event management.

She prefers to be behind the scenes, but is not afraid to get out into the community and promote issues she feels strongly about.

Sally has a lifelong love of animals and lives on a rural property, surrounded by her dogs, horses, chooks and birds, as well as all the native Australian wildlife.


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