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Board of Trustees

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

Damien Mander

Founding Director / Chairman

Anti Poaching in ZimbabweDamien served as a Clearance Diver in the Royal Australian Navy before transferring to a Special Operations unit within the Australian Army. Following the completion of military service he was employed by a Private Military Organisation tasked with retraining the future police of Iraq. Damien eventually moved to the position of Project Manager, overseeing daily operations of the Iraq Special Police Training Academy in Baghdad. He returned home to Australia from Iraq in 2008 after three years service.

Arriving in Africa at the beginning of 2009, the intention was to apply his background skills to wildlife protection and conservation. After traveling the southern half of the continent he came to rest in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

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Roger Parry

After 10 years with Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority Roger ascended to the rank of Senior Warden at Chizarira National Park. Following his time at Parks he has spent an additional 15 years in the field of wildlife conservation. Roger’s experience includes 15 years of using chemical and physical restraint of wildlife for conservation purposes. Additionally, Roger has had extensive experience in the training and deployment of operational anti poaching units.

 

Parbodh Gogna

MBChB, MRCGP, FRACGP, FACRRM, MBA

Dr Gogna is a medical practitioner who, after receiving his qualifications in the United Kingdom, moved to Australia. From 1997 to 2005 he worked as an active general practitioner in the remote and rural areas of Western Australia. In 2003, he was awarded a Commonwealth Centenary Medal for his contribution to rural health.

Today Dr Gogna works as a part-time general practitioner, spending a large amount of his free time on interests such as medical education and training. Following the completion of his Masters in Business Administration in 2006, Dr Gogna broadened his business interests to include property development and business consulting.

Dr Gogna was made aware of the efforts of the International Anti-Poaching Foundation by his long term friend Mr Brett Chaloner and is wholeheartedly devoted to the invaluable work done by the Foundation. He is keen to offer his business experience and management skills to help facilitate the successful administration of this not for profit organisation.

 

Colin Trott

IAPF Vet Colin Trott

Colin is a veterinarian hailing from the Mornington Peninsula on the beaches of the south-eastern corner of Victoria, Australia. He graduated from the Melbourne University School of Veterinary Science in 2001, and enjoyed 5 years of general practice before leaving to pursue his interest in surgery. He completed his Board Membership examinations and then completed an intensive surgical internship at one of Melbourne's busiest referral-only specialist centres, specialising in complex orthopaedics and neurosurgery. After another stretch in general practice, he visited Victoria Falls, seeing first-hand the efforts of the IAPF and assisting in field work with the associated Wild Horizons wildlife trust. This compliments his efforts from Australia in securing equipment to create a dedicated treatment and rehabilitation facility for animals injured by poaching.

 

Carmel Reznicsek

Carmel is the Head of Campus/Deputy Principal at Padua College, Rosebud Campus, where she has been for 8 years. Prior to that she was at the Mornington Campus for 20 years. Carmel was born in Wangaratta, Victoria in 1946 and educated at boarding school in Beechworth. She commenced studies in education in 1964 and her first school placement was in 1966 at East Melbourne.

She has been working in education ever since. Married to Helmut for 42 years she now lives Frankston, Victoria. She is keenly interested in all issues, worldwide, concerning people and is especially interested in young people. She will take long service leave in 2011 and will retire from teaching.

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

 

Brett Chaloner

Brett is an Officer in the Australian Army who served with Damien during a dynamic time in our recent military history. Damien's invitation to join the Board came at a time when Brett was looking to reinvest in the environment and a world that he has been fortunate enough to experience in many forms. Damien's timing was uncanny to say the least. A love of the bush, the mountains, wildlife of the extreme, and a belief in preserving the natural wonders of our world motivates Brett. In Damien, Brett has seen a rare talent and determination for this that needs to be fed. As a Board Member, he draws on his network and his collective experiences to enhance achievement of IAPFs mission.

 

Namo Chuma

Namo Chuma was born in November 1969 in Hwange District in Zimbabwe. Namo has been working in the field of environmental management and community development for the past 15 years. He trained as a Geography teacher at Gweru Teachers College in 1995. He went on to complete a Bachelor of Arts degree in Development Studies in Arusha , Tanzania and is currently in his final year of his Masters in Development Studies degree at the University of the Free State in South Africa. Namo worked for the Zimbabwe Central Statistical office as a Cartographer between 1990 and 1992. He also taught geography at high school 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. He is currently the Country Director of Environment Africa.

 

Key Personnel

 
 

Director of Training Operations - Global

Johan JC Strauss

JC is the former head instructor of 10 years for the SA Army in tracking, bushcraft and survival. After the army in 2000 JC started “Eco-Ranger” which focused on training Wildlife Rangers, Dangerous Game Guides for various Wildlife Parks and organizations such as the South African Wildlife College and Game Rangers Associations. JC trained the first 34 Women Wildlife Rangers for nine African Countries at the SA Wildlife College. Since then Eco Ranger has trained more than 1000 Rangers and Wildlife Guides. From 2005 - 2007 JC trained and developed 350 Wildlife Rangers for the Limpopo Parks Board. JC led the Anti-Poaching teams which covered 53 Protected Areas and brought down rhino and elephant poaching to 0% for 3 consecutive years and mammal poaching down by 80%. In 2008 JC started conservation and tourism projects in rural areas, developing children into a career path in sustainable tourism and protecting the local wildlife.

 

Director of Security Operations

Steven Dean

A former Australian Special Operations Soldier and Clearance Diver, Deano was also a Team leader for AEGIS defence services in Iraq, working alongside the US Army Corps of Engineers whilst they rebuild major infrastructure. He worked as a security advisor to the Australian Embassy in Afghanistan before moving to Africa. He has done over 20 tours into war zones since 2003 and is a leader in conducting detailed risk assessments and implementing crisis management plans – critical to anti-poaching operations. Deano is also a major donor to the IAPF.

 

Key Liaison Officer - Harare

Dr Sasha Jogi

Dr Jogi is a dedicated member of the IAPF and assists with complex negotiations with key stakeholders for IAPF projects. Dr Jogi is a member of Harare city Council.

 

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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Program Director – Conservation Guardians (Zimbabwe)

James Slade

 

Education Committee

Bronwyn Kelly

 
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