ABOUT US

Monica Bond is a principal scientist with the Wild Nature Institute. She has been conducting research on giraffes in northern Tanzania since 2012. Monica is project coordinator for Celebrating Africa’s Giants and wrote the popular picture books, The Amazing Migration of Lucky the Wildebeest, Juma the Giraffe, Our Elephant Neighbours, and Helping Brother Rhinoceros.

David Brown is a biologist, wildlife conservationist, and environmental educator. He has researched giraffe population genetics, and along with his colleagues discovered that many of the giraffe subspecies in the wild may be distinct species. David has written for National Geographic Kids, Highlights, and Mongabay.com. For Celebrating Africa’s Giants, David authors posters, writes articles, produces the Nature's Giants with Doug Beetle children's magazine, promotes the program on social media, and coordinates partnerships with U.S. zoos and institutions.

Chris Barela provides art, marketing and media for museums, parks, zoos and aquariums. Chris illustrated and designed the Celebrating Africa's Giants Wonderfully Weird Giraffes and Elephants: Enormous and Elegant posters.

Kayla Harren is a children's book author and illustrator. She has worked with Highlights, Click, and Zoodinos Magazine. Her illustrations have received honors from Communications Arts, 3x3 Magazine, and the Society of Illustrators. Kayla illustrated and designed Juma the Giraffe, Our Elephant Neighbours, and Helping Brother Rhinoceros, the African Rhinos: Conservation Crash! poster, and Nature's Giants with Doug Beetle children's magazine. You can view more of Kayla’s illustrations on her website (www.kaylaharren.com) and see new work and sketches on Instagram (@kaylaharren).

Lise Levy is a retired high school biology and environmental science teacher with 32 years of experience in education. She has won numerous awards for outstanding science teaching. Since 2011, Lise has contributed her skills to education in Tanzania. For Celebrating Africa’s Giants, Lise develops activities for primary and secondary schools to accompany our books and posters, and coordinates teacher training and distribution of environmental education materials in Tanzania.

James Madeli is a graduate in Wildlife Science and Conservation at the University of Dar es Salaam. James is research and education coordinator for the Wild Nature Institute in Tanzania. He assists Lise Levy with implementation of the Celebrating Africa's Giants environmental education program, translates our materials into Swahili, and brings the mobile "Giraffe/Elephant/Rhinoceros in a Box" project to primary and secondary schools throughout Tanzania. James also coordinates "Giraffe Fun Day" events in Tanzanian primary schools and conducts surveys to determine the impacts of our education program in local communities.

Dr. Megan Strauss is a wildlife biologist and illustrator. Her PhD examined factors driving giraffe population decline in Serengeti, Tanzania. For Celebrating Africa’s Giants, she wrote and illustrated the Giraffe and Friends and Giraffe, Rhinoceros, and Elephant activity books for children aged 4 and up. Megan contributes to the Nature's Giants with Doug Beetle children's magazine, and is producing the Guide to Careers in the Environmental Industry for Tanzanian secondary schools.

Carmen Mauk is a board member of the Wild Nature Institute and a communications specialist. She studied organizational transformation and has led large non-profit organizations working for positive social change. She is coordinating our public relations efforts, especially our Celebrating Africa's Giants environmental education campaign.