All directors are independent voting members of the governing body. Board composition effective 9/22/2011.

Charles Knowles - Executive Director
Charlie retired early as a successful Stanford-educated entrepreneur in Silicon Valley. He founded Mountain View software company Rubicon Technology in 1989 and sold it in 1994. His retirement lasted six days, until he launched full-time into applying his business acumen and experience to the field of wildlife conservation. In the 1990s, Charlie helped the Cheetah Conservation Fund and the Snow Leopard Conservancy grow into world-class, community-based conservation programs. In doing so, he recognized the opportunity for a new model of wildlife conservation, and in 2002 he co-founded the Wildlife Conservation Network to identify, qualify and invest in the best and brightest conservationists around the world. The synthesis of creativity and practicality in Knowles' approach has inspired thousands of passionate donors, as well as a rising generation of conservation pioneers.

John Lukas - Director
John, who is currently Director of the White Oak Conservation Center and President of the International Rhino Foundation, has over 20 years of international conservation experience. From his work with okapi in the Congo to saving rhinos in Sumatra, John has seen first-hand the importance of integrating local people into conservation strategies. The White Oak Conservation Center in Yulee, Florida is considered the world's premier facility for the conservation and research of endangered species around the world.

Akiko Yamazaki - Director
Akiko, who developed her passion for wildlife and wilderness areas during her childhood in Costa Rica, believes that the goals of conservation are best served by a combination of entrepreneurial energy and commitment to local involvement and development. Akiko and her husband, Jerry Yang, founder of Yahoo, are active supporters of a number of philanthropic organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area. Akiko is a board member serving on the Executive Committee of the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. An avid horsewoman, she also serves on the National Advisory Committee of the United States Equestrian Team Foundation. Additionally, she and her husband are ardent supporters of their alma matter, Stanford University, having co-chaired the $1 billion Campaign for Undergraduate Education and provided the naming gift for the Environment and Energy Building.

Christine Hemrick - Director
Christine retired as an executive of Cisco Systems after 30 years in the high technology industry. She is an avid conservationist and a Trustee of the African Wildlife Foundation. She is also a leading supporter of the Andean Cat Alliance, a multinational group of researchers and conservationists dedicated to conserving the Andean mountain cat.

Rebecca Patton - Director / Chief Operating Officer
After 20 years in the private sector in Silicon Valley, Rebecca joined The Nature Conservancy in 2001 to pursue her life-long interest in conservation. As a Regional Director she oversaw conservation programs in many parts of the world, from China to Peru to the western United States, and developed a deep appreciation for the importance of community-based conservation. Then as the Chief Conservation Strategies Officer she led TNC's global policy and science initiatives. She recently joined WCN to contribute her experience to WCN's innovative and effective model for wildlife conservation. She is on the boards of several other conservation organizations, and in her free time, she also enjoys hiking adventures.

Jean-Gaël "JG" E. Collomb, Ph.D. - Director of
Conservation Programs
JG* has always been passionate about wildlife, and caught a travel bug early on in life. Originally from Paris, France, JG has spent most of his adult life between the U.S. and Africa. After getting his B.S. in Biology, he set off for a remote national park in Gabon working with inspiring ecologists studying chimps, gorillas, mandrills and dodging the occasional elephant, while learning that wildlife conservation also required some "bush mechanics" and a good dose of people skills. He focused on the latter, and spent the next six years with the World Resources Institute, coordinating an NGO network to monitor logging companies in Central Africa, and subsequently with the Wildlife Conservation Society providing technical assistance to help the development of national parks and ecotourism in Gabon. This led to JG's interests in rural development issues and their interface with wildlife conservation, taking him to Namibia to study the effects of tourism on people's wellbeing in the Caprivi strip for his Ph.D. dissertation. JG is thrilled to combine all of his interests through his work at WCN. Since he recently moved from the east coast with his family, he is eager to discover all the outdoor and culinary delights northern California has to offer.
* JG is actually pronounced in French, which sounds close to "GJ"... but he's very tolerant of people getting confused about it.

Elaine Iverson - Financial and Information Technology Manager
Elaine worked in the high-tech industry for 17 years in various departments including accounting, sales, legal, product management and information technology. While pursuing a lifelong interest in wild cats, she became involved with the Cheetah Conservation Fund and Snow Leopard Conservancy and joined WCN as a volunteer in 2002. Her participation on an Earthwatch expedition trapping carnivores in the Argentine Pampas convinced her to follow a different career path, and she now manages the finance, accounting and information technology needs for WCN. Elaine is also the Program Manager for the Andean Cat Alliance. In her spare time she enjoys hiking in the hills above the WCN office.

Eve Schaeffer - Program Manager
Eve is the Program Manager for Save the Elephants, Snow Leopard Conservancy and the Sidney Byers Scholarship for Wildlife Conservation. She has worked with many environmental groups and presently serves on the Board of Directors of the Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center. After receiving her B.A. in Native American Studies at Harvard, she worked as an advocate for people facing the death penalty. On the weekends she laces up her running shoes and works as a Coach for the AIDS Marathon Training Program. She is thrilled to pursue her lifelong passion for wildlife and wild places with WCN.

Kelly Wilson - Program Manager /
Event and Volunteer Manager
Kelly has been an avid animal lover all her life. After many years working in Environmental Education, her career path for the past 10 years has led her through the world of Zoos and Aquariums where she was inspired by those making a difference in the field of conservation. Kelly is on the board of Friends of Outdoor School, and she recently completed her Masters of Public Administration in Nonprofit Management. She has been a WCN volunteer for the last five years and as WCN’s Event and Volunteer Manager, she feels fortunate to be able to put her skills and her passion for animals together. When she is not at the office she can be found enjoying the company of friends or at the park with her dog, Sherman.

Julia Darcey - Program Manager / Grant Writer
Julia has wanted to work in wildlife conservation since childhood. After earning her B.S. in Environmental Sciences and M.S. in Environmental Journalism, Julia worked on conservation law with the marine nonprofit Oceana and wrote an environmental textbook with Pearson Education. Julia is thrilled to now be putting her skills to work for wildlife as a Grant Writer at WCN. Besides animals, she also likes kayaking, gaming, and writing novels.