The international team is made up of two part-time employees and many enthusiastic and talented volunteers around the world. Our Asia team has two full-time employees, three strategic local partner organisations and 20 community-based monitors or forest guardians. Read below for more information about our enthusiastic team.

Chief Executive Officer (Kathmandu, Nepal / San Francisco, CA, USA)
I first visited Nepal and the Himalayas while living in India and China from the early to late 90s – and kept coming back for more. For over 25 years I’ve been working on developing countries and environmental finance, particularly for biodiversity conservation, forestry, and climate change. After my M.Sc. in economic geography I published research on innovative conservation finance for tropical forests, and followed my passion by managing projects and operations on field level as well as in headquarters for Germany’s aid agency GIZ, the Bank for Reconstruction and Development KfW, the international consulting group GFA, The Nature Conservancy TNC, the World Bank, the Global Environmental Facility GEF, and the United Nations Development Programme UNDP. Since 2007 I co-founded and was Managing Director of two carbon offset companies, managing a diverse portfolio of mostly forest carbon projects in different stages of investment and development in Africa, Asia, and the Americas: Terra Global Capital TGC, and EcoKraft LLC 2011-2012. I’m passionate about combining conservation with creating benefits for the rural communities with local, national, and international institutions, using individual projects as well as multi-billion dollar biodiversity conservation portfolios. I worked – and climbed mountains – in more than 20 primarily developing countries and lived several years each in India, China/PRC, Panama, Germany, the US, and Zambia. Since the beginning of 2011 I chaired the Programs Committee of the Red Panda Network’s Board of Directors, while also serving on the Board of Natural Partners as treasurer since its founding in 2003 and heading the Executive Council Program Committee of ecoReserve. You can reach me at: dirk@redpandanetwork.org

Administrative and Outreach Coordinator (San Francisco, CA, USA)

Even as a kid, I knew we had to do all we can to conserve the threatened species of this planet. I still believe this, and knowing there are organizations like Red Panda Network leading the conservation charge is very comforting. To be able to be a part of this movement and work with such passionate people to protect such an important (and obviously adorable) species like the Red Panda, is a dream come true. I have a degree in Conservation Biology, currently also work in the Institutional Advancement Department for the University of California, and have nearly seven years of experience providing development and administrative support for nonprofits. I am delighted to be a part of such an inspiring organization and to be able to apply this experience to such a vital cause. You can reach me at terrance@redpandanetwork.org

Database and Geographic Information System Specialist (Kathmandu, Nepal)
I am thrilled to be a part of the Red Panda Network team and to be able to put my skills to work for conservation of wild red pandas and their habitat through the education and empowerment of local communities. I received my MSc in GeoSpatial Information Systems (GIS) at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland 2009, specializing on Geospatial Data Acquisition and Image Processing (Remote Sensing), and Database Systems, and my MSc in Ecology and Environment Management at the University of Liverpool, England 2007, specializing on Pollution Monitoring. It is very satisfying to utilize my expertise from The Royal Society for Protection of Birds from Southport, England in the field of community-based red panda conservation with RPN. You can reach me at: rajiv.paudel@redpandanetwork.org

Community Conservation Coordinator (Taplejung, Nepal)
I am really excited to be a part of Red Panda Network, committed to the conservation of wild red pandas and their habitat through the education and empowerment of local communities. I received my Master’s Degree in Environmental Science from Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu. I’m pleased to get this platform where I can utilize the knowledge and ideas on sustainability of communities and biological conservation which I have learned throughout my career. I hope my experience of involvement as an Environment Officer with the SEAM-N Project (a bilateral project of the Nepal Government and the Government of Finland) and as Faculty Member at the Department of Biology at Mechi Multiple Campus, Jhapa in Eastern Nepal will continue to be useful for me to manage and implement the community based projects on red panda research and conservation. You can reach me at: damber.bista@redpandanetwork.org

Australia Outreach Volunteer (Brisbane, Australia)
My love for red pandas started at a young age at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo, where I learned about their plight and the devastating reality that one day they might not exist at all. From then on I knew what my purpose in life was, to save red pandas (as cliché as that sounds). That passion eventuated into action in 2011 when I had the pleasure of seeing two 3 month old cubs in their natural habitat in the Eastern highlands of Nepal. After returning from Nepal I began with hands-on outreach from Australia. We founded our Red Panda Roots and Shoots education group, and I traveled to various zoos across Australia talking to the public, youth groups, and Zoo officials about the issues surrounding the Red Pandas and how they can help. RPN’s Australia volunteers will hopefully be an active tool to help conserve Red Pandas in the wild. We are always looking for more volunteers to help with administration, outreach, and merchandising in Australia so if you have some time to spare feel free to contact me. I am currently studying ecology and conservation at Brisbane’s Griffith University, in the hopes that I will one-day work more closely with the Red Pandas in Nepal. You can reach me at: australia@redpandanetwork.org

Graphics Volunteer (High Bridge, NJ.)
Anyone who knows me could tell you how crazy I am about animals. When I came across the Red Panda Network, I was so moved that I had to offer my help. I have an extensive background in brand development, marketing, graphic design, photography, papercutting, painting, and drawing. I have been a professional graphic designer for over 8 years.  Much of that time I worked as a Creative Director for Armelin Media, and I am currently working at the FOREX.com headquarters as an Interactive Designer in NJ. I am excited to combine my two passions – animal conservation and graphic design – to benefit the Red Panda Network! I hope I can help take RPN to the next level and one step closer to removing Red Pandas from the Vulnerable Species List. You can reach me at: graphics@redpandanetwork.org

Communications and Database Volunteer (Bethesda, MD, USA)
It is an honor to work with the Red Panda Network in support of conservation efforts to protect my favorite animal, the red panda. I did my undergraduate work in microbiology at Cornell University and I received my Ph.D. in medical microbiology and immunology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I’m currently working in the field of genetics in Bethesda, Maryland. My scientific background includes work in eukaryotic gene regulation, assay development for pathogens in blood, and regulatory science. In my spare time, I love communing with my red panda friends at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. You can reach me at: communications@redpandanetwork.org

Volunteer Webmaster (Norrköping, Sweden)
You can reach me at: webmaster@redpandanetwork.org

Web-Volunteer (Kansas City, MO, USA)
You can reach me at: webmaster@redpandanetwork.org

Merchandise and Shipping Volunteer (San Diego, CA, USA)
I have worked in the exotic animal field for the past 17 years. After graduating from Moorpark College with an AS in both Behavioral Management and Wildlife Education I started at Tracy Aviary in Salt Lake City as a bird show trainer/keeper. I moved back to California to work at Wild Wonders in Vista, CA, that does educational programs throughout Southern California and supplies animals for TV programs. At the same time I joined the San Diego Zoo Children’s Zoo as a senior keeper with the educational animals, presenting them for the public and training a wide variety of behaviors on both mammals and birds. Then I worked for 2 1/2 years as the Training Supervisor for the Phoenix Zoo. Now I have returned to the San Diego Zoo as a keeper for the Avian Propagation Center. While at the Children’s Zoo, I had trained the red panda on exhibit to accept a harness and leash and to become the first red panda to be an animal ambassador for his species. Through this wonderful experience I also wrote a children’s book about the red panda Fuji which is for sale here » on our website. You can reach me at: shipping@redpandanetwork.org

Graphic Design and Marketing Volunteer (Saint Paul, MN, USA)
A lifelong animal lover, I’m happy to volunteer my skills in Graphic Design and Marketing towards red panda conservation. I look forward to contributing my experience in branding, layout, copywriting, and marketing campaign execution. I have my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design, with minors in Studio Art and Arts in the Media from the University of Minnesota, and I am currently Creative Supervisor of in-house marketing communications for a medical device company in Saint Paul, MN.
You can reach me at: graphics@redpandanetwork.org

Merchandise Volunteer (San Francisco, CA, USA)
You can reach me at: merchandise@redpandanetwork.org

Membership Volunteer (London, UK)
A French poet once said: “until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains un-awakened” (Anatole France). It might be because I share his nationality but these words feel right. I would even go beyond: my true self can only be discovered when I see an animal, when I can be sure that our world is safe for all of them.
I am a PhD student in London, working on solar energy (at the Centre for Doctoral Training on Theory and Simulation of Matter, CDT TSM). It allows me to contribute to the ongoing effort to rescue the planet through what I do best: science. But research comes with some inevitable inertia and a fair time sometimes passes before you see its applications. The Red Panda Network is for me a formidable opportunity to help the Earth’s cutest inhabitants in these times as well as preparing their habitat for the generations to come.
You can reach me at: membership@redpandanetwork.org

Communications and Donor Relations Volunteer (Washingon, DC, USA)
I am deeply passionate about red pandas. This opportunity to volunteer with the Red Panda Network and be directly involved with the conservation of this incredible species is a dream come true. By day, I am the supervisor of the National Ad Operations team for a major media corporation, where I have worked for the past 7 years. I am able to leverage my strengths in teamwork, leadership, and communication to assist RPN with educating the public and establishing relationships with our donors through email correspondence and newsletters. In my free time, I obtained my Wildlife Studies Certificate through the Smithsonian National Zoo (Washington, D.C.), where I continue to participate in classes focused in animal behavior, ecology, and most importantly, conservation. I am also a member of FONZ (Friends of the National Zoo). You can reach me at: communications@redpandanetwork.org