Akshay has spent most of his career working on the governance aspects of natural resource management in Eastern and Southern Africa. He has wide-ranging experience in the fields of water resource management, landscape and wildlife conservation, community participatory approaches, advocacy and lobbying, and strategic planning. He is passionate about mobilizing people, communities, and organizations to tackle our most pressing environmental challenges. It is to this end that he seeks to combine his experience, background in environmental studies, and his business education to work with Maliasili’s partners to help them on their journey to becoming strong institutions that deliver great impact.

As the Leadership Coordinator for Maliasili, Cara plays an instrumental role in the design and implementation of Maliasili’s leadership programs, and leads the coordination of Maliasili’s integrated OD and leadership efforts. Originally from London, Cara has 20 years of experience working with non-profits. She has lived in Tanzania for over ten years and, prior to joining Maliasili, served consecutively as Program Manager for two of Maliasili’s Tanzanian partners, the Pastoral Women’s Council and the Ujamaa Community Resource Team. Previously, she has worked as a Refugee Services Coordinator for the British Red Cross in London. She also has experience working in rural education in South Africa and in the health field in the UK supporting parents and health professionals.

Wanjiku is a strong believer that effective communications are critical to helping conservation organizations achieve their goals, amplify their voices, and shape global conversations. Her primary role is to provide direct communications support to Maliasili’s portfolio partners and leadership programmes. Wanjiku has close to a decade’s experience in designing high-level communications strategies, with a skill set that includes donor communications, digital strategy, organizational branding, and media engagement. Before joining Maliasili she worked with the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy as well as Space for Giants.

Mike Pflanz is media advisor to a number of conservation and environment organisations working in Africa, including The Nature Conservancy and Space for Giants. He helps them work out what they want to say and to whom, and advises which media outlets will most effectively reach those audiences, before designing the strategies that will engage those reporters. His focus is on guiding organisations to work more closely with African national media, as well as international journalists. He formed his company Plantwood Communications in 2016, after more than a decade as Africa Correspondent for Britain’s Daily Telegraph.