Suwanna Gauntlett

Born in San Francisco, grew up in South America and Europe. As a child in Brazil, Suwanna came face-to-face with the tragedy of a jaguar being tortured by hunters in a village. This formative experience set her on a course of wildlife conservation. Her early enthusiasm for wildlife has led her to a passion for conservation and devoting her life to the defense of the wild.

Dr. Gauntlett has developed a signature approach to “direct action conservation” and founded WildAid in 1999 which became Wildlife Alliance. Her approach is characterized by direct law enforcement on the ground and building consensus among often diverging stakeholders (e.g., government and private sector).