Star Wetland Centre award with WLI

Jaleen West, is a young and aspiring environmental conservationist who works as the Senior Education Officer/ Supervisor at the Pointe-a-Pierre Wildfowl Trust in Trinidad. A graduate of the University of the West Indies, Jaleen holds a special BSc in International Tourism Management but found her passion in Environmental Education and Public Awareness. Jaleen oversees the Trust's aviculture programmes for the research, breeding and release of locally endangered waterfowl and wetland birds as well as the Trust's Environmental Education and Public Awareness programmes designed to sensitize visitors and students to the importance of wise use of our natural resources. Her aim is to instil a sense of pride in the country's young people that they may know and understand that there is only one place to call home, Earth and that they MUST protect it.

Mandy Kern is the Program Specialist at the Kansas Wetlands Education Center, which is located at Cheyenne Bottoms Wetlands in Kansas in the United States.  The Kansas Wetlands Education Center was awarded as a WLI Star Center in 2022!  Cheyenne Bottoms is considered the largest wetland complex in the interior of the United States and is a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance.

Suh Seung Oh currently serves as Executive Director of the Ramsar Regional Center – East Asia (RRC-EA). The RRC-EA assumed the role of secretariat for WLI Asia-Oceania, which has more than 90 members from 19 countries. Leveraging his extensive expertise in wetland conservation and management, he has served as a judge for the award since its inception, contributing to its integrity and success.

Seongbo Kim, Network Officer at the Ramsar Regional Center – East Asia (RRC-EA), coordinates activities and communication of WLI Asia-Oceania. Since joining RRC-EA in 2016, she has focused on fostering engagement and connectivity among its members.  As a judge for the award, she has appreciated the opportunity to learn from the diverse and expert applications.

Yang Shufen is the Director of Sungei Buloh, Conservation Division of the National Parks Board, Singapore, and Chair of the ASEAN Flyway Network. She oversees the management of the Sungei Buloh Nature Park Network and Khatib Bongsu, a rich riverine mangrove in northern Singapore. She has been with the National Parks Board since 2006. Yang Shufen holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Biology from the National University of Singapore.

Connor Walsh is the International Engagement Officer at WWT, and has been supporting WLI since 2018. Before this he spent about a year engaging visitors to zoos and aquariums, and before that many years in audio and radio. He assisted the first round of Star award judging, and chaired the panel for the 2024/25 round.

Eric CYUBAHIRO, an ecology specialist at the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA), supports the management of the Nyandungu Eco-Park in Kigali, Rwanda. The successful rehabilitation of Nyandungu serves as a blueprint for the ongoing rehabilitation of five additional wetlands within the city, a crucial initiative in which he is actively participating as part of the project team.