Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders

What Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders does

Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders (EWCL) is a US-based non-profit training program founded in 2005 that develops early-career wildlife conservation professionals through a competitive two-year cohort experience. Each cohort selects approximately 20-25 emerging leaders with roughly three years of conservation experience from NGOs, foundations, federal and state government, and the private sector. Programmatic components include a week-long annual in-person training session (held at White Oak Conservation Center in Florida and Washington, D.C.), one-on-one mentoring from the EWCL Board and Advisory Committee, team-based hands-on conservation project delivery in partnership with established conservation organizations, and structured cross-organizational networking. Ten cohorts have run from Class 1 (2005-2006) through Class 10 (2024-2025), producing a network of 245 alumni across 200+ organizations in more than 20 countries who have collectively conserved 74 species and raised $305K for conservation initiatives.

EWCL operates as a collaborative initiative funded through foundation grants and corporate sponsorships from a consortium of core funders including Cincinnati Zoo, Disney Conservation Fund, Houston Zoo, Indianapolis Zoo, National Geographic Society, SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund, and Wildlife Conservation Network, with White Oak Conservation providing in-kind training venues and additional support from WWF and Wildlife Conservation Society. The program is provided at no cost to participants; international applicants are required to secure sponsorship for two flights to the US. EWCL does not develop proprietary technology and has no disclosed AI/ML capabilities, software products, or commercial revenue streams — its underlying platform is the curated curriculum, mentor network, and conservation project pipeline. Operational hosting is provided by the Wildlife Conservation Network, with Laura Gruber (Class 5 alumna, WCN Senior Programs Manager) serving as Executive Director and co-founders Nina Fascione (International Rhino Foundation) and Jeff Flocken (Aquarium of the Pacific) as Board co-Chairs. The program is governed by a Board of Directors and an Advisory Committee drawn from leadership at National Geographic, WWF, Smithsonian, Disney, SeaWorld, Houston Zoo, WCS, and other major conservation institutions.

Name

Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders

Legal name

Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders

Website

https://wildlifeleaders.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

EWCL is a US non-profit running a competitive two-year training program for ~25 early-career wildlife conservation professionals per cohort, delivered through in-person sessions, mentoring, and team conservation projects, funded by zoo, foundation, and corporate sponsors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Conservation Leadership Training

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312), Professional and Management Development Training (611430)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Wildlife Conservation & Species Protection (BPAGAGAB)

Keywords

• Wildlife conservation training
• Conservation leadership development
• Professional capacity building
• Nonprofit training program
• Conservation campaign mentoring

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation and Corporate Sponsorship: EWCL is a non-profit collaborative initiative funded through foundation grants and corporate sponsorships from conservation organizations. The program minimizes training costs through in-kind donations and foundation support, with participants attending at no cost to ensure the strongest applicants are selected regardless of financial status.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

EWCL runs a two-year cohort-based training program that selects approximately 20-25 emerging wildlife conservation professionals every two years through a competitive application process. Participants receive week-long in-person training sessions (held at White Oak Conservation Center in Florida and Washington, D.C.), one-on-one mentoring from seasoned conservation professionals, cross-organizational networking, and hands-on team-based conservation campaign project work delivered in partnership with established conservation organizations. A regional variant, Caribbean-EWCL (C-EWCL), was launched in 2012-2013 specifically for Caribbean conservation professionals.

Product overview

EWCL is a capacity-building training program (not a technology product) that provides emerging wildlife conservation professionals with a two-year intensive program combining leadership training, mentoring, networking opportunities, and hands-on conservation project experience. The core offering consists of the Two-Year Training Program with four integrated components: Leadership & Skills Training sessions held at locations like White Oak Conservation Center and Washington D.C., a structured Mentoring Program connecting participants with experienced conservation professionals, Conservation Project Development where teams implement wildlife campaigns for partner organizations, and a Networking Platform facilitating cross-organizational connections. The program selects approximately 20 participants per cohort every two years, with classes numbered from Class 1 (2005-2006) through Class 10 (2024-2025).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• EWCL Two-Year Training Program A comprehensive two-year capacity-building program that selects approximately 20-25 emerging wildlife conservation professionals every two years through a competitive application process. Participants receive week-long annual in-person training, ongoing mentoring by seasoned conservation professionals, cross-organizational networking, and team-based hands-on implementation of a global wildlife conservation campaign. Delivered at no cost to selected participants through foundation grants and in-kind donations.
• Caribbean-EWCL (C-EWCL) A regional variant of the EWCL Two-Year Training Program specifically designed for up-and-coming conservation professionals in the Caribbean, funded in part by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Quantifiable outcome

• 245 early-career professionals trained; 74 species conserved; $305K raised for conservation; 200+ organizations in network

Named customers4 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core partner and project partner.

• White Oak Conservationcore partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides training venue for EWCL sessions at the White Oak Conservation Center in Yulee, Florida. EWCL participants meet for week-long training courses at this facility.
• Wildlife Conservation Networkcore partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerEWCL is hosted by Wildlife Conservation Network. WCN provides operational management and support, including through staff like Laura Gruber who serves as both WCN Senior Programs Manager and EWCL Executive Director.
• IUCN Saola Working Groupproject partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerEWCL Saola Team worked to improve snare removal in saola habitat, increase awareness about the plight of the saola, generate financial support for its conservation, and provided capacity for the IUCN Saola Working Group.
• FREELANDproject partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerThai non-profit organization that partnered with EWCL Slow Loris Team on an investigative training program for Thai and Lao law enforcement to combat the illegal trade of slow loris species in Southeast Asia.
• Painted Dog Conservation & Painted Dog Research Trustproject partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerEWCL Painted Dog Team increased international awareness and conservation support while re-designing and raising funds to manufacture effective anti-snare collars for in-situ use.
• Lion Recovery Fundproject partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for EWCL Class 10 project team focused on increasing the success of human-lion coexistence efforts across the lion range.
• South Rift Association of Land Owners (SORALO)project partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for EWCL Class 10 project team enabling evidence-based and community-inclusive strategies for human-lion coexistence.
• Conservancy-Communities Living Among Wildlife Sustainably (CLAWS)project partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for EWCL Class 10 community engagement project educating communities on the role of apex predators in ecosystem health.
• Watu, Simba na Mazingira (WASIMA)project partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for EWCL Class 10 project reinforcing governance strategies to promote habitat preservation and stakeholder engagement to enhance lion conservation.
• Save Pangolinsproject partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for EWCL Class 9 project empowering local pangolin champions internationally.
• WildAidproject partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for EWCL Class 9 project researching the demand for pangolin scales in Vietnam's traditional medicine practice.
• Tikki Hywood Foundationproject partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for EWCL Class 9 project developing ethical pangolin monitoring devices.
• Planet Indonesiaproject partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for EWCL Class 9 project addressing illegal wildlife trade in Indonesia.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Environmental Leadership Program: Trains early- and mid-career environmental professionals through a cohort-based fellowship with mentoring and project work. Directly comparable mission and structure to EWCL's emerging-leader training model, but with broader environmental (not wildlife-specific) focus.
• Rare: Global conservation behavior-change organization that runs fellowship and training programs for conservation practitioners, including leadership development and project-based campaigns. Closely comparable to EWCL in combining capacity-building with hands-on conservation project execution.
• Aldo Leopold Leadership Program: Trains environmental scientists and practitioners in leadership and communication skills through an intensive cohort-based program. Comparable in targeting emerging environmental leaders with structured training, though academic/research-focused rather than wildlife NGO-focused.
• WWF Russell E. Train Fellowships: World Wildlife Fund's professional fellowship program that supports emerging conservation leaders through training and project funding. Directly comparable in offering structured capacity-building for early-career wildlife/conservation professionals globally.

Broad incumbents

• African Wildlife Foundation: Large Africa-focused wildlife conservation organization with leadership development, training, and field programs for African conservation professionals. Comparable in mission and African footprint, but operates at significantly larger scale with broader programmatic scope.
• Fauna & Flora International: Long-established international conservation NGO with capacity-building and training programs for conservation practitioners across species and geographies. Comparable in mission and global footprint, but larger and broader in programmatic scope than EWCL.
• Conservation International: Major global conservation organization with leadership development and fellowship components for emerging conservation professionals. Overlaps with EWCL in training emerging leaders and operating conservation projects worldwide.
• Smithsonian Institution's Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute: Runs conservation training, fellowships, and leadership programs targeting emerging conservation scientists and practitioners. Comparable in training mission and conservation focus, but with a research/scientific orientation and broader institutional scale.
• The Nature Conservancy's NatureVest and Leadership Programs: Operates leadership development pathways for emerging conservation professionals alongside its global conservation programs. Comparable in mission to build conservation leadership capacity, though embedded within a much larger operational organization.

Others

• Wildlife Conservation Network: Hosts EWCL and operates the Rising Wildlife Leaders capacity-building program through shared staff including EWCL's Executive Director. Sister program/host organization rather than competitor, with overlapping mission around wildlife conservation leadership.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/emerging-wildlife-conservation-leaders

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders