DR. ARIADNE ANGULO. IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group Co-Chair
Ariadne completed a Master’s degree in Conservation Biology at the University of Kent and a PhD in Zoology at the University of Toronto. Her research interests include bioacoustics, conservation, ecology, evolutionary biology and systematics of amphibians. She became involved with amphibian conservation assessments as a coordinator and assessor in the Global Amphibian Assessment (GAA); she subsequently coordinated an amphibian research and conservation project in the tropical Andes, worked as Amphibian Red List Authority (RLA) Coordinator overseeing the maintenance and curation of the amphibian database on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, acted as Director of Conservation for the International Conservation Fund of Canada, and as as Interim Executive Director for the Amphibian Survival Alliance (ASA). aangulo[at]amphibians.org.
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DR. AMAËL BORZÉE. IUCN Amphibian Specialist Group Co-Chair
Amaël became co-chair in 2022, after being deputy chair between 2021 and 2022. He is also the ASG webmaster since 2018. He completed a Master in behavioural ecology in Switzerland and a PhD on amphibian conservation in the Republic of Korea. He is currently a professor at Nanjing Forestry University in Nanjing, P.R. China where he leads the Laboratory of Animal Behaviour and Conservation. His research focuses on amphibian behaviour, phylogeny, ecology, taxonomy and conservation in northeast Asia. He would also like to work on determining what makes amphibian species threatened and how to best protect their environment. He has published over 150 peer-reviewed articles on his main research focus. aborzee[at]amphibians.org.
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SALLY WREN. IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group Conservation Planning Officer
The main focus of Sally’s role as ASG’s Conservation Planning Officer since 2013 is the update of the global Amphibian Conservation Action Plan (ACAP). Sally is also co-facilitator of the ASG Species Conservation Planning Working Group and is the ASG Secretariat Lead Contact on the subjects of translocations and captive management. Prior to working with the ASG Sally spent several years at the Zoological Society of London; there she worked on IUCN Red List assessments of freshwater fish and reptile species for the Red List Index, helped develop the EDGE Amphibians conservation initiative, and managed both the EDGE Fellows Programme and ZSL’s Mongolia Programme. Sally has a BSc in Zoology from Imperial College London, an MSc in Conservation from University College London, and is currently working towards a PhD at the University of Otago, which focuses on improving conservation methods for amphibians, with particular emphasis on effective conservation planning and translocations. swren[at]amphibians.org.
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JOS KIELGAST. IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group Programme Officer
Jos’s role within the ASG is to help coordinate the running of the group, ensuring members are kept informed of developments and the group continues to meet its commitments to maintaining and updating the ACAP. Jos has been interested in amphibians since he was a tadpole. He holds an MSc. in biology and is currently working on his PhD at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. He has a broad interest in ecology, evolution and conservation and worked with a variety of topics all sharing a context amphibian biology. His research has focused on the epidemiology of amphibian chytridiomycosis in Africa and Europe, biodiversity and systematics of amphibians in central Africa and more lately using environmental DNA to study amphibians and other aquatic animals. jkielgast[at]amphibians.org.
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DR. RUTH MARCEC-GREAVES. Amphibian Specialist Group Programme Officer
Dr. Ruth Marcec-Greaves is the Executive Officer for the Honduras Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Center (HARCC). Prior to that she was Director of the Detroit Zoo’s National Amphibian Conservation Center. Ruth has a DVM (University of Illinois) and a PhD in Animal Physiology (Mississippi State University). During her PhD, Ruth’s dissertation focused on captive breeding of amphibians and developing amphibian assisted reproductive technologies for salamanders. Although her background is in reproduction, physiology, and veterinary medicine, Ruth participates in a wide variety of amphibian conservation efforts around the globe. Some of these efforts include: reintroductions and survivability monitoring, population surveys, epidemiology studies, habitat restoration, genetic studies, natural history research, and climate change issues. Ruth works with multiple organizations, including ASA, IUCN, and AZA (Association of Zoos and Aquariums) with the goal of encouraging collaboration between amphibian conservationists across multiple venues and multiple fields of expertise. Ruth is part of the team updating the Amphibian Conservation Action Plan.
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JULIA GESCHKE. SSC Liaison
Julia has a Master of Environmental Management degree in conservation and ecosystem science from Duke University, where she completed her master’s project on habitat and population connectivity of salamander species in central North Carolina. Her interests include conservation planning, geospatial analysis, and community science. Currently, she is the Reptile and Amphibian Conservation Coordinator at the Indianapolis Zoo’s Global Center for Species Survival, where she works to support all of the IUCN SSC’s herp specialist groups. She is also on the board of the Foundation for the Conservation of Salamanders.
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JIGME TSHELTHRIM WANGYAL. IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group Regional and Membership Program Officer.
Jigme is a doctoral candidate at the School of Environment and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, Australia. A pioneer in Bhutanese herpetology, he started herpetofauna research in Bhutan in 2008. He obtained a M. Sc in Biodiversity, Wildlife and Ecosystem Health from the University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom, and advocates the use of citizen science to understand the mostly unexplored herpetofauna of the Kingdom of Bhutan. He is also a Research Fellow with the Bhutan Ecological Society since 2021 and also served the Royal Government of Bhutan for two and half decades as forester.
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FRANCIS BOAFO ASAMOAH. IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group Outreach Program Officer.
Francis is a final year Masters student with the Department of Wildlife and Range Management at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. During his undergraduate studies, Francis was a team leader of Save Ghana Frogs, West Africa’s first amphibian conservation organization. He was part of the team of scientists who discovered the largest number of the West African Giant Squeaker frog in a single survey period after its rediscovery. He is a passionate environmental communicator with over 7 years of expertise working with various conservation organizations. Francis is presently one of WWF’s Top 100 Young African conservation leaders.
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IUCN SSC Amphibian Red List Authority
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JENNIFER LUEDTKE. IUCN SSC Amphibian Red List Authority Global Coordinator
Jennifer is the IUCN Red List Manager at Re:wild (formerly Global Wildlife Conservation), which enables her to give about 80% of her time to ASG’s Amphibian Red List Authority. She was appointed to this ASG role in January 2015 after serving as deputy Coordinator for two years. She is based in the Re:wild office in Washington, D.C., USA. jluedtke[at]amphibians.org.
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KELSEY NEAM. IUCN SSC Amphibian Red List Authority Programme Officer
Kelsey is the IUCN Red List Officer at Re:wild (formerly Global Wildlife Conservation), where about 90% of her time is dedicated to the work of the ARLA. She joined the ARLA in November 2015 and is based in the GWC office in Washington, D.C., USA. kneam[at]amphibians.org.
