Board and Team

CAMILLE WEKESA

Camille is a Kenyan born landscape, wildlife and primates artist who trained in Italy and has spent many years preserving Kenyan landscapes on canvas and murals and passing on that knowledge to youth through conservation and education artwork.

In her hometown of Nanyuki and on the banks of the Ontulili River Camille has regenerated her gardens and the riparian land which is now home to the primates and in particular a resident colobus family. She is passionate about preservation of the ecosystem and in particular preservation of the primate habitat both as an artist and a lover of nature and natural environments. camillewekesa@hotmail.com or +254 0721 250 843

CAREN TANKARD

Caren has lived in Kenya since she was young, having travelled to the country as a child with her parents. She lives in Nanyuki within the project target area and for many years has built key relationships within this area. She has nurtured and built the riparian tree cover around her house which is now home to a colobus family. Caren is instrumental in building community relations on the ground given her extensive influence amongst the community around her. She’s also passionate about educating our community children in protecting their Environment and Heritage. carentankard@gmail.com or +254 0700091237

ALICE KARIUKI

Alice is a family woman and very knowledgeable on agricultural conservation as she’s a retired agricultural teacher and a former patron to the 4k club . 4k’s Kuungana, kufanya, kusaidia Kenya which loosely translates to coming together, to act and help Kenya. Alice believes in communal development by engaging everyone. She’s a small scale farmer who is determined to see the conservation of Ontulili river and forest getting better through promotion of environmental conservation and protection of the primates. She believes human can understand the primates and together co-existence harmoniously.

FAITH JIMMY

Faith’s career in environmental conservation begun during her childhood days, during then residents from her community used to suffer from animal raiding the farm from Tsavo national park. Her interest in studying environmental conservation sparked. She currently holds a master’s degree in environmental pollution and a degree in environmental education. She believes the right attitude and perception can drive a positive change in environmental conservation. To her there is no problem that exist in the field of conservation without a solution. Faith has a vast experience in community conservation.

LILIAN MAINA

Lilian has been involved in social work and environmental management efforts for
decades. She has experience in business management, leadership, communications, collaborations and critical thinking. Lilian grew up in Ontulili and brings to OPP invaluable local connections and understanding, as well as years of experience in managing community-based projects.

ADVISORY TEAM

OPP is privileged to have two advisory members support the organization’s efforts.

DEBORAH BEATON

Deborah is working as an advisory consultant in the initial set up and development stages of the program. Deborah brings a wealth of knowledge from the private sector, including business management, large scale partnership management and program management. Deborah is currently working at the African Management Institute as a Senior Partnerships and Program Manager, but comes from a long family background in wildlife conservation and is passionate about preserving East Africa’s natural environment and wild species.

WANJIKU KINUTHIA

Wanjiku is currently the Communications Manager at Maliasili, an organization that exists to enable talented local conservation organizations to become more effective at what they do, overcome their challenges, and achieve greater impact. Prior to this, Wanjiku worked for eight years at the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy as the Senior Communications Officer and at Space for Giants as a Communications Manager. Wanjiku now lives in Nanyuki and joins the team on the Board as well as bringing her many years of knowledge in conservation communications.

MARCUS NGUGI GITAU

Marcus leads operations at Mea LABs, an entity of Mea Ltd. Marcus has 5 years of
experience in the agricultural sector, with an emphasis on innovation and development. He
is a graduate of Sussex University ranked number one in the world for Development. His Masters thesis identified a trajectory towards sustainable agricultural practices in Kenya, for which he received a Distinction. He will be working with the local community about best agricultural practices, planting trees and educational support for the primate project.