William Garcia Completes Two-Year Training Program with C-EWCL

William Garcia from BFREE wrapped up his two year participation in the Caribbean Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders (C-EWCL) training program this spring. He met other members of his cohort in Tobago in early May to finalize the project, make recommendations, and celebrate the group’s success.

Funded in part by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and supported by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), C-EWCL is an opportunity for up-and-coming conservation professionals in the Caribbean to gain invaluable skills and experience working with proven conservation leaders. Graduates become future conservation leaders of the Caribbean with the competence necessary to lead on critical issues facing wildlife in the region.

CEWCL Class 2012-2013

Participants received three training sessions over a two-year period, and worked in teams to develop, implement and evaluate a wildlife conservation project in the Caribbean. “With many of today’s conservation leaders in the Caribbean retiring in the next decade and numerous mid-career professionals having left the region for international opportunities, there is a critical need to develop a new generation of wildlife leaders in this region,” said Beth Allgood, C-EWCL Director and Campaigns Managers at IFAW. “C-EWCL provides today’s young professionals hands-on, comprehensive experience to become tomorrow’s conservation leaders.”

C-EWCL class members come from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences in the conservation field. William’s cohort included:
• Abdel Abellard, Haiti, USAID/Haiti
• Marchilio Ack, Belize, Ya’axche Conservation Trust
• Marlon Oliver Beale, Jamaica, Jamaica Conservation & Development Trust
• Felicity Burrows, Bahamas, The Nature Conservancy
• Jorge Castillo, Panama, Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
• Jamal Galves, Belize, Coastal Zone Management Authority
• Jeanel Georges, Barbados, CARIBSAVE Partnership
• Renee Gift, Tobago, Gift & Co, Attorneys at Law
• S.K. Natalya Lawrence, Antigua, Offshore Islands Conservation Program
• Clarissa Lloyd, Anguilla, Terrestrial & Wetlands Conservation Officer, Anguilla National Trust
• David Mahabir, Trinidad, Research Officer/Wildlife Section
• Andres Jimenez Monge, Costa Rica, International Student Volunteers Costa Rica
• Darshanjit Singh Narang, Trinidad & Tobago, Environmental Management Authority
• Feria Narcisse-Gaston, St. Lucia, Forest Officer, Forestry Dept
• Angela Randazzo Eisemann, Honduras, Marine biologist consultant
• Paul Watler, Cayman Islands, Environmental Programmes Manager Designate

About Caribbean Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders (C-EWCL)
The goal of the Caribbean Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders (EWCL) program is to facilitate cross-organizational networking and mentoring for emerging wildlife conservation leaders in the Caribbean region while conducting training and guiding concrete innovative conservation projects. For more information, please visit wildlifeleaders.org/classes/caribbean-ewcl