Samantha currently holds the position of South West Indian Ocean Regional Seascape Leader for WWF. In this role she leads the oceans related work across five countries – South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya and Madagascar. She has over 18 years’ of relevant work experience including managing large teams, developing and implementing highly impactful initiatives and strategies to tackle some of society’s most intractable social and ecological challenges. Her roles have ranged from conservation scientist, programme manager, conservation director, strategic advisor and most recently with WWF International’s Oceans Practice. Her work to date has focused on enabling the effective implementation of an ecosystem approach to fisheries management, coastal community led conservation, and sustainable blue economy.

 Samantha holds a PhD (UCT) in Ecosystem based Fisheries Management and completed a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the Faculty of Law at UCT on complexity theory, systems transitions and behaviour change. She is has published over 40 papers, reports and book chapters on subjects ranging from seabird ecology, ecosystem effects of fisheries to behaviour change and systems transition. Her work has been recognised by the UN Convention on Migratory Species in 2008. She was awarded ‘Most Promising Young South African’, and was a finalist in ‘South Africa’s most influential women’ and was awarded recognition by Oprah Winfrey for her work in conservation.

She is passionate about conservation, cares deeply about humanity and wholeheartedly believes in a future where people and nature prosper.