Sheherazade selfie photo taken with a woodland background

Sheherazade

Conservation Scientist, PROGRES (Sulawesi Regional Ecological Conservation Initiative)

She is the Co-Executive Director of PROGRES, a conservation organization based on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Established in 2018, PROGRES has been building a network of empowered communities in biodiversity hotspot of Wallacea and strengthening local leadership in protecting endemic yet overlooked wildlife, from bats, tortoises, cuscus, to fish. Growing up near tropical rainforest in Sulawesi, Sheherazade has been passionate about nature and aspires to lead and expand her works in biodiversity conservation locally and globally.

 

Besides PROGES, Sheherazade felt the need for different strategies to advance conservation practice. Her ten years of experience have ranged from leading biodiversity research to advancing unequal access to capacity-building. She co-founded Tambora Muda, one of the first national-level networks for Indonesian young conservationists. She is part of the steering committee that together established the IUCN SSC Indonesian Species Specialist Group to bridge regional collaboration.

 

She won the People Choice Award Conservation Optimism SE Asia 2022 and was selected as Young Changemaker IUCN Leaders Forum 2023. While co-leading PROGRES, she is a Doctoral Candidate in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at UC Berkeley, USA, and is active in writing scientific and popular articles about biodiversity and the roles of woman leaders in conservation