Women in Nature Network (WiNN)

Connecting Women for Conservation

January 2017 Newsletter No. 1
About WiNN

The Women in Nature Network (WiNN, formerly Women for Wildlife Network) is connecting and
empowering women to achieve sustainable management and conservation of our Earths natural
resources. WiNN was founded in 2013 by 14 international conservation leaders with decades of
experience in nature conservation and capacity building at the community level. Recognizing that
women play a pivotal role in the field but are often isolated or ill prepared to take on leadership roles,
WiNN is working to develop a global learning community of women in order to create and support a
future generation of environmental leaders.

WiNN aims to connect women through four main programs:

Annual global networking event to exchange womens experiences by bringing together

international conservation leaders, WiNN members, conservation practitioners and students
through symposia and workshops to strengthen their leadership skills and connect with other
women.

Establishment of WiNN networks (national/regional/university/speciality etc.) following WiNN

global networking events.

Mentorship program to connect women with established conservation practitioners.

 Strategic grants and technical support for womens conservation projects.

We welcome women from around the world to join us!

Highlights of 2016

2016 WiNN Global Networking Event - A Great Success!

Empowering Women in Nature Conservation: Argentina and Beyond, was held from April 25-27, 2016 at
the University of Buenos Aires, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with generous support from the Alice C. Tyler
Perpetual Trust and the University of Buenos Aires. The three-day meeting included keynote speakers,
the Sally Ride Conservation Symposium, and two half-day workshops focused on Leadership and
Networking. The meeting was expertly organized and led by WiNN founding member Ana Liz Flores with
support from WiNN members Leeanne Alonso, Robyn Dalzen, Jessica Deichmann, Lisa Famolare and
from professors Irena Izaguirre and Bettina Mahler from the University of Buenos Aires.

Over 40 women participated in the meeting, symposium and workshops for three days, linking 24
students from the University of Buenos Aires and novice conservationists from Peru, Colombia, Mexico,
Guyana, India and the US with each other and with female conservation leaders. The event catalyzed the
creation of WiNN national networks and follow-up activities in Argentina, Guyana, India, and Mexico.
WiNN Mentees win Awards

Congratulations to WiNN mentee Purnima Barman from India who received three awards in 2016!
These included:

1) India Biodiversity Award from UNDP, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of India,
and the National Biodiversity Authority of India; 2) Royal Bank of Scotland Earth Hero Award under
"Save the Species" category, and 3) "Green Guru" Award from the Balipara Foundation. Purnima has
been guided and supported by her WiNN mentor, Robyn Dalzen, for several years. Purnima's work was
also recently featured on the environmental website Mongabay:
https://news.mongabay.com/2016/12/from-loathed-to-loved-villagers-rally-to-save-greater-adjutant-
stork/

Congratulations to WiNN mentee Nelanie La Cruz from Guyana who was accepted to a Masters Program
in Aquatic Science at the University College of London (UK).

WiNN network established at Harvard University

The Harvard College Conservation Society (HCCS) has created a new permanent chapter dedicated to
the WiNN women. Two HCCS representatives attended the Argentina WiNN conference and were
inspired by their fellow WiNNers' work. A valuable resource for college students, WiNN provides the
opportunity for young women to watch and see what possible careers exist within the field of
conservation, and learn how to navigate potential prejudices, injustices, and other challenges that are
scattered among the various professional fields within conservation. In March 2016, HCCS organized a
Careers in Conservation symposium that featured a panel of WiNN members highlighting the role of
women in conservation.
HCCS women were inspired to create this WiNN newsletter and a website (coming soon) that will
update all WiNN members, and beyond, with features on WiNN members' work, discussions on
particular gender issues within conservation, and exciting accomplishments by WiNN networks. On top
of this venture, the HCCS WiNN network hopes to use its connections at other colleges to inspire and
create other WiNN networks. HCCS wants to give back to WiNN by finding a pool of young, aspiring
conservationists whom WiNN members can both mentor, inspire, and advise at the very start of their
conservation careers.

WiNN gains interest in the Guiana Shield, South America

At the IVth International Congress on Biodiversity of the Guiana Shield held in Georgetown, Guyana in
August 2016, WiNN members Leeanne Alonso and Nelanie La Cruz attracted over 40 women to an
information meeting about WiNN. Attendees were enthusiastic about creating a regional WiNN network
for Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana and Venezuela. Women from each of these countries came
forward to offer to coordinate the group in their country, and to work with each other to form a regional
Guiana Shield WiNN network. Representatives from this network will be invited to the 2017 WiNN global
event to connect with other networks.

WiNN members publish paper on Women and the Environment

WiNN founding members and colleagues collaborated to put together a summary of women taking
action to protect their natural environment. The paper was published in the book series: Women, War
and Violence. Contact Leeanne Alonso if you'd like a copy of this paper.

Citation:

Alonso, L.E., S. Bhalla, A. Bermudez, M.K. Cline, M.E.Ellis, A.L. Flores, R. Gonzalez Montagut, M. Hurley, R.
Kormos, P. Moreno-Casasola, H. Rainer, A.L. Tjon Sie Fat. 2015. Violence against the environment:
Women taking action. In: Kurtz, M.M. and L.R Kurtz (eds.), Women, War and Violence: Topography,
Resistance, and Hope. 2 volumes. Praeger, Santa Barbara, USA.
Women of WiNN
Leeanne E. Alonso, PhD

Leeanne Alonso founded WiNN in 2013 with 13 like-minded friends because she feels strongly that
women have vital roles to play in conservation and natural resource management and is committed to
helping women strengthen their leadership and involvement. For over 15 years, Leeanne has led
scientific expeditions to document the species living in unexplored parts of the world through her work
with Conservation International and Global Wildlife Conservation. Leeanne earned a BS in Zoology and a
BA in Plan II from the University of Texas at Austin, and MS and PhD in Biology from Harvard University.
She has worked in over 25 countries, mainly in the tropics, to document species richness and guide
conservation action. Her scientific specialty is the ecology and diversity of ants. Leeanne currently is an
independent biodiversity consultant, working primarily for the International Finance Corporation (part
of the World Bank) to advise the private sector on how to minimize the impacts of their development
projects on the environment.
Ana Liz Flores, PhD

Dr. Ana Liz Flores is an international consultant, with 25 years of executing and evaluating social-
environmental programs focusing on local development, biodiversity management and its conservation,
climate adaptation and resilience. Actually, she is the Argentine Protected Areas Program Manager of
Wyss Foundation, working on support of the exploration of opportunities in Argentina for designation of
both terrestial and marine protected areas and recommendation for potential new projects. Dr. Flores
has a long history building partnership for development based on sustainable natural resource
management, resilience and climate adaptation, supporting communities, governments, private
companies and other key stakeholders. She has promoted successful public policies related with natural
resource management and its conservation and resilience process in Latin America, highlighting
Chacaos model (Venezuela), recognized by UNISDR. She has worked with international organizations
such as Huairou Commission, World Bank, CAF, European Union, Global Environmental Facility,
Conservation International, World Resource Institute, Smithsonian Institution and privates companies.

Claudia Sobrevila, PhD

A Spanish and Venezuelan national, Claudia holds a degree in biology from the Central University of
Venezuela, an M.A. and a PhD in Ecology from Harvard University and was a post-doctoratal fellow at
the Smithsonian Institution. She joined the World Bank in 1992. From 2010 to the present, she has
managed projects in Mozambique, South Africa, Botswana and Namibia. These projects focus on
biodiversity conservation, tourism, community development and coastal management. She is currently
the manager of the Global Wildlife Program, a partnership with various UN agencies and NGOs to
combat wildlife poaching and illegal trade in Africa and globally. From 2002 to 2010, she worked for the
central unit of the World Bank doing analytical research and capacity building on a variety of
topics: land tenure and development, indigenous peoples rights, environment and natural resources
management, conservation trust funds, small grants mechanisms, protected areas and gender issues in
development. Prior to her position at the World Bank, Claudia was Chief Ecologist at The Nature
Conservancy, where she lead inventories of vegetation types and park planning in more than 8 countries
and developed a Manual for Rapid Ecological Assessment. She was also Senior Director for the Andean
Countries at Conservation International, where she promoted the concept and development of
ecological corridors, particularly in the Peru-Bolivia Amazon Lowlands, which has become a major
conservation strategy in these two countries. Since 2000, Claudia has done volunteering work during her
vacations for the Lama Gangchen World Peace Foundation and joined peace pilgrimages to remote
villages in Nepal, Tibet and Sri Lanka providing food, clothes and school materials to marginalized
communities giving them hope and inner spiritual strength.
Upcoming Events

The Role of Women Networks to Bring Positive Changes in Societies

Tuesday, January 24, 2017 from 12 to 2pm; World Bank, 1818 H. Street, NW, Washington DC 20433,
Room # MC C1-100

WiNN member, Dr. Claudia Sobrevila, Manager of the Global Wildlife Program (GWP), a partnership led
by the World Bank to address the crisis of wildlife poaching and trade in Africa and Asia, is coordinating
a Brown Bag Lunch Panel Discussion on Women in the Environment as part of a strategy to reach out to
a group that plays a significant role in protecting natural assets and the environment.

The Panel will include Dr. Leeanne Alonso, founding member of WINN, who will explain what motivated
her to start WiNN, how she envisions it to grow and how it can accelerate wildlife and nature
conservation in the world. Yanire Brana, Founder and President of MET (Women, Enterprises and
Technology) will talk about her own experiences and lessons learned from establishing a network of
women that are becoming entrepreneurs and how as part of having their businesses they are helping
the villages and places where they live thrive. Jean Reddemann, a Native American woman
and inspirational speaker from Wisconsin will talk about her work supporting circles of women
(particularly victims of violence and terminal illnesses) to reconnect with nature as an accelerated
method for their recovery. By describing their experiences, the panelists will provide guidance and
express their views on why it is so essential to set up networks in these challenging and difficult times
everywhere around the world.

All are invited!

WiNN Argentina members to host Conservation Genetics Conference

The Conservation Genetics Network (Red de Gentica de la Conservacin, ReGeneC) is composed of

professionals linked to research and teaching activities related to Biodiversity Conservation in Latin
America. One of the main goals of the network is to promote and facilitate the interaction between
researchers and students. In this context, ReGeneC yearly organizes a workshop for ~20 Latin-American
doctoral and master students, shifting between different locations including Venezuela, Chile, Brazil and
Argentina. The networks workshops are continuously supported by AGA (American Genetics
Association) and UNU-Biolac, as well as by local institutions.

WiNN member Bettina Mahler of the University of Buenos Aires is organizing the 9th Workshop on
Conservation Genetics to be held in Posadas, Misiones Province, Argentina, from January 29 - February
12, 2017. WiNN is supporting the attendance of two female Latin-American students to the workshop.

WiNN Founding Members Planning Meeting

Annual Planning Meeting/Conference Call for WiNN Founding Members will take place in February 2017.
More details to come.

Connecting for Conservation: WiNN Global Networking Event 2017

Building on the successful 2016 event, WiNN will host their second annual global networking event in
Tepoztln, Mexico in August 2017 in partnership with the Mexican Fund for the Conservation of Nature
(FMCN), an independent, non-profit organization that is one of the largest of 17 environmental funds in
Latin America and the Caribbean. FMCNs mission is to support and strengthen efforts for the
conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in Mexico. Every two years, FMCN organizes the Week
for Knowledge Exchange in Conservation (SICC for its Spanish acronym) to bring together leaders from
over 50 conservation organizations supported by FMCN to exchange experiences from 140 projects
supported annually by FMCN. In 2017, FMCN will partner with WiNN to offer 20 leading women from
FMCN conservation projects the opportunity to participate in the WiNN global networking event
immediately following the SICC event in Mexico City. The event will be organized by WiNN founding
member Rene Gonzlez and her mentee Ana Laura Barillas who both work for FMCN, along with new
WiNN members Raquel Zapeda and Karla Peltz. WiNN international members will also have the
opportunity to participate in the SICC meeting. Funding is generously provided by FMCN and the Alice C.
Tyler Perpetual Trust.

Stay tuned for more information in the next WiNN newsletter!

Supporters

Many thanks to our generous supporters:

Alice C. Tyler Perpetual Trust

Sangreal Foundation

Global Wildlife Conservation (GWC)

Nature photos Andrew Snyder

Contact Us

Special thanks to the HCCS WiNN network for handling WiNN communications, especially to Angie
Torres and Maggie Chory.

For any questions, comments, or stories you would like to contribute, please email us at:
womeninnaturenetwork@gmail.com

WiNN website coming soon at www.womeninnature.net!