Welcome the 2020 World Lemur Festival Team!

We are excited to welcome and introduce our 2020 World Lemur Festival volunteer team! They will be helping the Lemur Conservation Network make a big impact for this year’s World Lemur Day and World Lemur Festival. The 2020 World Lemur Day will be held on October 30.

As the world’s most endangered group of mammals, lemurs need the help of conservationists and animal lovers now more than ever. That is why we are so happy to unite this talented group of passionate individuals to work together and make positive strides for lemur conservation.

Our World Lemur Festival volunteer team will be working on several key projects:

• Contacting zoos, museums, and universities in each region about holding events for the World Lemur Festival
• Advising organizations and individuals about ways to organize and promote their events
• Coordinating the creation and distribution of materials for organizations and individuals holding events for the World Lemur Festival
• Sharing content on our website and social media about World Lemur Festival events
• Encouraging people and organizations to post about World Lemur Day on social media
• Updating our website and calendar with events
• Identifying ways to increase the reach of the World Lemur Festival for years to come
• Developing virtual events for the World Lemur Festival

These volunteers come to us from Madagascar, the United Kingdom, and across the United States. Learn more about them below.

Team Lead

Bryan Vasquez is leading the team effort, and coordinating events in the Northwest USA. He has worked on many conservation projects for species such as snow leopards, bats, and black-footed ferrets. Currently, he trains a team of ambassadors at the Seattle Spheres to engage and encourage guests to connect to nature. The Spheres features over 40,000 plants from cloud forests around the world including some from Madagascar. He is excited to volunteer with the Lemur Conservation Network because he enjoys connecting people to the conservation stories that are happening around the world.

Madagascar Event Coordinator

Narovana Erika Radavidrason is coordinating events in Madagascar. She is a project coordinator and a nature lover who is always looking for opportunities and challenges related to sustainability and social equity. She wants to use her skills to educate Malagasy people about the importance of conservation and environmental protection.

United States: Regional Event Coordinators

Christina Burt is coordinating events in the Midwest USA. Christina is a lemur lover from Evanston, Illinois currently working as an animal keeper at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. She has a degree in Evolutionary Anthropology from Duke University. Some of her favorite college memories include caring for the lemurs at the Duke Lemur Center and hosting a World Lemur Day event on campus with Duke’s chapter of Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots. Christina is very excited to join LCN and help spread awareness and appreciation for lemurs worldwide!

Allie Dudash is coordinating events in the Southwest USA. She lives in San Diego, California and has been planning events for team building, non-profit community give back, and wellness workshops for corporate clients and schools across the nation. Earning her M.A. in Biology from Miami University while traveling to biodiverse hotspots around the world has given her purpose to bring people together and raise awareness for our living world.

Nicole Troy is coordinating events in the Northeast USA. She is a conservation and animal welfare advocate. With a professional background in social psychology, she is a graduate student in Biology at Miami University’s Advanced Inquiry Program through the Bronx Zoo. She hopes to integrate human and animal interactions in her current and future work. As a volunteer coordinator with LCN, she hopes to bring awareness to the importance of lemurs as a species and engage the community through outreach and collective impact.

Catherine Wysoczanski is coordinating events in the Southeast USA. Catherine is a professional in online marketing and social media management, with experience in social media, editing, writing, evaluation, and museum facilitation. She received a Bachelors Degree in English and a Certificate in Museum Studies from Indiana University. Currently, she is pursuing her Masters in Biology through the Advanced Inquiry Program at Miami University. In her spare time she loves studying animal conservation, gardening, hiking and spending time with her family.

Elise Zienkowski is coordinating events in the Northeast USA. She is a two time Miami University graduate holding an undergraduate and master’s degree in zoology and biology respectively.  Her graduate work centered around primates and the idea of changing everyday human life behaviors through educating people on the similarities between human and nonhuman primates. She has conducted observational research on three lemur species housed at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. With excitement and enthusiasm, this is Elise’s first year joining the Lemur Conservation Network to ensure the World Lemur Festival is celebrated throughout the United States, passing on her love of lemurs and their importance to the Madagascar ecosystem and life worldwide.

United Kingdom Event Coordinator

Helen Morris is coordinating events in the U.K. She fell in love with lemurs at her local wildlife park in the UK, where she is now lucky to work with them as a walkthrough attendant. When she’s not at the park, she’s busy running her own business, Synchronicity Dance, where she teaches dance classes and runs events. Last year, Helen threw a World Lemur Festival event at her dance studio which raised money for the Lemur Conservation Foundation. She is excited to volunteer from the UK and hopes to help raise awareness of lemurs here and inspire others to get on board with World Lemur Day!

We are very grateful to all of our volunteers for spending their time and talents supporting lemur conservation efforts around the world. Stay tuned to the Lemur Conservation Network to see their work!