Recently, Dr. Adrien Emile Ntwari, one of our field veterinarians in Rwanda, graduated from a two-year, capacity-building training program called “Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders” (EWCL).  Following his graduation ceremony in Washington, D.C., we asked Dr. Adrien to reflect on his experience and how he will use what he learned at Gorilla Doctors.

What is the EWCL program and who helped support your participation?

Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders (EWCL) is an initiative to deepen our commitment to protecting wildlife and wild places. Both in person and online, EWCL brings together early- career conservationists from around the world to receive leadership training through mentoring, networking, and hands-on experience. I was able to participate thanks to generous support from the Houston Zoo, which believed in me and gave me the opportunity to learn and grow. I also received lots of encouragement from Dr. Tierra, our chief veterinary and scientific officer.

What are some highlights from your experience?

A key highlight was connecting and collaborating with other passionate conservationists. We were divided into groups of six and each group was given a specific conservation project to develop and implement over the two years. In my team of six, we partnered with a local grassroots organization in western Tanzania, WASIMA, to help scale their program promoting peaceful human-lion coexistence through education and technology.

My team was able to fundraise over $22,000 to develop educational materials such as comic books, brochures, and posters. We also purchased AI-enhanced camera traps to build an early alert system in communities to hopefully mitigate human-lion conflicts. Also, my team was able to train the WASIMA team on use of SMART tools to streamline and standardize data collection in the field.

Another highlight was gaining practical leadership and communication skills that I can use in my daily work. Moreover, the self-reflection sessions helped me better understand my strengths and the kind of leader I want to become.

How did this program help you grow as a young conservationist?
To me this program is more than just a training – it became a family. They helped me grow and understand how leadership and conservation go hand-in-hand and that protecting wildlife works best when communities are also involved.

How will you bring what you learned to Gorilla Doctors?
I hope to share ideas with my colleagues and continue to contribute positively to our mission of providing life-saving veterinary care to eastern gorillas by applying the stronger and better leadership skills I have developed through EWCL.

Anything else you’d like to share about the experience?
Overall, the EWCL program was a life-changing experience for me. I am very grateful for the opportunity and the support I received. It reminded me why I chose conservation and motivated me to continue growing and giving back to both wildlife and the people.

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