Behind IUCN Save Our Species is a passionate, multidisciplinary team working across continents to turn conservation challenges into solutions. From grant management and species recovery to communications and partnership development, our experts combine field experience with strategic vision to ensure every action delivers measurable impact for species, ecosystems, and the people who depend on them.

We operate in close collaboration with colleagues across IUCN and its regional offices from Bangkok to Nairobi. This global network connects us to conservation realities on the ground while aligning our work with global frameworks like the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Together, we form a dynamic team that bridges policy, practice, and people, grounded in science, driven by collaboration, and inspired by the belief that conservation is everyone’s responsibility.

Meet the people behind IUCN Save Our Species

Ana Nieto

Head, Species Conservation Action

Dao Nguyen

Senior Programme Manager, Conservation Action

Sophie Hall

Manager, Partnership Development for Species Conservation Action

Anne Mugo

Grants Coordinator

Phurba Lhendup

Coordinator, Integrated Tiger Habitat Conservation Programme

Laure Montchamp

Senior Grants Officer

Elisa Facchini

Programme Officer

Faria Tarus

Programme Officer

Felicien Nyenty Achare

Programme Officer

Abigaile Randrianarijaona

Programme Officer

Camilla Chuard

Grants Officer

Tracey Starke

Programme Officer

Anuska Joshi

Environmental and Social Management System Officer

Zara Parian

Communications Officer

Maria Vittoria Berardi

Temporary Programme Officer

Our connection to IUCN

IUCN Save Our Species (SOS) is part of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the world’s largest and most diverse environmental network. Founded in 1948, IUCN unites more than 1,400 Member organisations and over 17,000 experts from governments, civil society, Indigenous Peoples’ organisations and the private sector to safeguard nature through science, policy and collective action.

This unique structure gives IUCN SOS both global reach and technical depth. Being part of IUCN means our work is guided by the latest science, informed by global policy processes, and supported by a worldwide community of conservation practitioners. It allows us to combine the strength of a global Union with the agility of a focused initiative, ensuring that local action contributes directly to international biodiversity targets.

Within IUCN, SOS operates under the Species Conservation Action team in the Centre for Conservation Action. We work hand in hand with IUCN’s regional offices, Commissions, Members, and partners to design and deliver targeted conservation programmes that respond to real needs on the ground. Our projects help advance IUCN’s mission: to influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature and ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable.

By linking grassroots initiatives with international frameworks such as the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, we help translate commitments into concrete results for species, ecosystems, and people.

Learn more about IUCN

Guided by IUCN’s 20-year Vision and 2026–2029 Programme

In 2025, IUCN Members adopted a 20-year strategic vision “Unite for Nature on the path to 2045” and a four-year Programme (2026–2029) to drive collective action across the Union.

The Vision calls for a just world that values and conserves nature, built on inclusion, equity, rights, and stewardship. The Programme turns this into action through three priorities:

• Conserving biodiversity effectively, from species recovery and ecosystem restoration to rights-based conservation.
• Transforming systems that drive nature loss, addressing climate, food, energy, cities, water, and finance.
• Advancing a just and equitable society, embedding human rights, gender equality, youth, and Indigenous leadership in conservation.

IUCN SOS embodies these ambitions, transforming policy into practice and global commitments into local impact.