Dr. Laly Lichtenfeld believes in finding the balance for communities and nature. A nearly 20-year resident of Tanzania, Laly co-founded African People & Wildlife in 2005 to help rural communities conserve and benefit from their wildlife and natural resources. Laly specializes in wildlife conservation with a focus on lions and other big cats, community empowerment and engagement in natural resource management, and the development of conservation incentives for rural people. As a female CEO in East African conservation, Laly is often one of few women at the senior leadership table, a responsibility she does not take lightly. In 2018, Laly became an invited member of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority Research Advisory Committee. In addition to being a WINGS Fellow, Laly is an accomplished speaker, a Distinguished Alumni of the Yale Tropical Resources Institute, a National Geographic Explorer, and a recipient of the 2016 Lowell Thomas Award for Open Space Conservation.
