MEET THE 2024 WOMEN OF DISCOVERY

The WINGS Women of Discovery Awards were established in 2003 to recognize extraordinary women making significant contributions to world knowledge and science through exploration.

Our 2024 Awardees are five pioneers being honored for their remarkable achievements.

DR. PAULA KAHUMBU

Dr. Paula Kahumbu is a prominent Kenyan conservationist and the CEO of WildlifeDirect. She earned her Ph.D. from Princeton University, focusing on Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Kahumbu has been instrumental in redefining wildlife conservation through education and engaging storytelling, aiming to inspire worldwide action for environmental preservation.

Her leadership has propelled WildlifeDirect to the forefront of conservation efforts in Africa. She pioneered several influential media projects to highlight critical conservation issues and the beauty of African wildlife. Paula produced and hosted "Wild Talk" on NTV, fostering public awareness and debate about environmental protection. She is also the creator and producer of the multi-award-winning series "Wildlife Warriors," which has been pivotal in educating and connecting Africans with their natural heritage.

Further expanding her impact, Paula collaborated with Disney to develop "Team Sayari," a program aimed at empowering young conservationists. Her work with National Geographic as the presenter and producer of the Emmy-nominated series "Secrets of the Elephants" showcases her deep commitment to conservation and her skill in using media to advocate for the natural world. Dr. Kahumbu's efforts demonstrate a profound dedication to safeguarding Africa's wildlife through innovative conservation strategies and compelling storytelling.

Paula is a Nat Geo Explorer, sits on the Board of WWF International, and has won numerous awards including the Whitley Gold Award, Princeton in Africa Medal, Bristol University Alum of the year, Jackson Wild Legacy Award, Innovation Disruptor (Tribeca), and holds the title Order of the Grand Warrior. She lives in Nairobi Kenya.

PATRICIA MEDICI

Patricia Medici is a Brazilian conservationist whose main professional interests are tapir conservation, tropical forest conservation, landscape ecology, and communication. Patrícia has a Bachelor's Degree in Forestry Sciences from the São Paulo University (USP - Universidade de São Paulo), a Master's Degree in Wildlife Ecology, Conservation and Management from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG - Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais), Brazil, and a Ph.D. Degree in Biodiversity Management from the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), University of Kent, United Kingdom.

For the past 30 years, Patrícia has been working for a Brazilian non-governmental organization called IPÊ - Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas (Institute for Ecological Research) of which she was one of the founding members. Since 1996, Patrícia coordinates the Lowland Tapir Conservation Initiative (LTCI) and dedicates her life to the conservation of tapirs and their remaining habitats in Brazil. Since 2000, Patrícia has been the Chairperson of the IUCN SSC Tapir Specialist Group (TSG), a network of over 130 tapir conservationists from 27 different countries worldwide. Patrícia is a TED Fellow since 2014 and a National Geographic Explorer since 2019.

She has been honored with several prestigious conservation awards: Harry Messel Conservation Leadership Award from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (2004); Future for Nature Award from the Future for Nature Foundation in the Netherlands (2008); Whitley Award from the Whitley Fund for Nature in the United Kingdom (2008); Columbus Zoo Commitment to Conservation Award (2017); William G. Conway International Conservation Award - Significant Achievement (2018); National Geographic Society / Buffett Award for Leadership in Conservation (2019); and, Whitley Gold Award from the Whitley Fund for Nature in the United Kingdom (2020).

RUTHMERY PILLCO

Ruthmery Pillco is a Peruvian biologist who works on conservation and biodiversity projects in the rainforests of Costa Rica and Peru. In Costa Rica, she has led conservation projects for rare and threatened trees on the Osa Peninsula, conducting inventories of flora and germinating threatened trees for use in restoration projects. Ruthmery is an Indigenous Peruvian biologist from a village outside of Cusco, and is a trilingual speaker of Spanish, English and Quechua.

As a member of the IUCN Group of Tree Specialists, she has collaborated with the Global Tree Campaign to assess the IUCN conservation status of endemic trees on the Osa Peninsula. In Peru, she leads an Andean bear conservation program for the nonprofit organization Conservación Amazónica-ACCA in the Peruvian Andes of Manú National Park, where she and her team use different conservation technologies to understand the secret life of Andean bears. She received her Master’s degree in plant and fungi taxonomy, conservation, and biodiversity from Queen Mary University of London and Kew Gardens.

PROF ADRIANA VERGÉS

Photo credit: James Sherwood, Bluebottle Films

Adriana Vergés is a marine ecologist whose research focuses on the ecology and conservation of coastal marine habitats. In particular, her team investigates the ecological impacts of climate change in our oceans and develops hands-on restoration solutions to protect and conserve marine ecosystems, including seagrass meadows, kelp forests and coral reefs. She has authored over 100 peer-reviewed scientific publications and is a passionate science communicator.

Professor Vergés is a Director of the Kelp Forest Alliance and a co-founder of Operation Crayweed and Operation Posidonia, two projects that have been restoring missing seaweed forests and seagrass meadows over the last ten years. Operation Crayweed was awarded Australia’s NSW Green Globe Award in 2017. Adriana received the UNSW Emerging Thought Leader Prize in 2019. She holds a PhD from the University of Barcelona, an MSc in Science Communication from Dublin City University & Queen’s University Belfast and is a Professor at UNSW Sydney and the Sydney Institute of Marine Science.

DR. JESSICA WARE

Dr. Jessica Ware is a full curator at the American Museum of Natural History where she serves as Chair of the Division of Invertebrate Zoology.

Dr. Ware’s research focuses on the evolution of behavioral and physiological adaptations in insects, with an emphasis on how these occur in Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) and Dictyoptera (termites, cockroaches, and mantises). Her active research program studies insect systematics, with an emphasis on the Odonata and the Dictyoptera but in her lab they work actively on Hemiptera, Strepsiptera, Plecoptera, Grylloblattodea and Apidae as well. She has been an active member and leader of several transformative transcriptomic, phylogenomic, genetic and morphological projects that aimed to resolve the insect tree of life, revise dragonfly and damselfly taxonomy, explore termite and cockroach ecology (especially diet), and determine population level variation among tropical and arctic taxa. Through these projects she has published over 80 peer reviewed papers.

Dr. Ware holds a BSc from the University of British Columbia in Canada, and a PhD from Rutgers, New Brunswick. She was awarded a PECASE medal from the US government for her work on insect evolution. Dr. Ware served on the Governing Board of the Entomological Society of America for 3 years. She served as Director of Diversity Equity and Inclusion at the Society of Systematic Biologists for 3 years. Dr. Ware is the past president of the Worldwide Dragonfly Association and the past president of the Entomological Society of America. She is president-elect of the Society of Systematic Biologists. Dr. Ware is co-founder of Entomologists of Color and serves on the board of Black In Natural History Museums.