Based in Arusha, Tanzania, Dr. Tim Davenport has lived and worked in East and Central Africa for 30 years, holding both technical and leadership roles in government, academia, and NGOs across the continent. Prior to joining Re:wild, he served as Director of Species Conservation & Science (Africa) for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) for 3 years, having previously built the WCS Tanzania Program from zero into a $7mill/year operation, and serving as its Country Director for 13 years. Like all of the projects he has designed and run over the years, the Tanzania country program was handed over to a national he trained and mentored. Tim also directed WCS’s Southern Rift Program covering Malawi, Tanzania and Mozambique, and the Southern Highlands Conservation Program in Tanzania. In Cameroon, he managed the Lobéké Forest Project for WWF, and in Uganda, he worked for The Forest Department, Uganda National Parks, Mbarara University and Makerere University. 

Throughout his career, Tim has focused on the conservation and management of forests, savannas, aquatic and marine environments. He believes strongly in the holistic nature of conservation and has been instrumental in the creation of 11 new protected areas, the planting of 4 million indigenous trees, and the development of education programs reaching millions of people. He has also carried out applied research in primatology, biodiversity, carnivore and elephant ecology, herpetology, wildlife trade, botany and priority setting. He has been involved in the discovery of 13 new vertebrates to science, including Rungwecebus kipunji, a new genus of monkey, and Atheris matildae a new species of bush viper.

He has a gift for science communication and has written over 120 publications. Tim is an active member of the IUCN Species Survival Commission, serving on the Primate, Amphibian and Pangolin Specialist Groups, and he currently serves as the Regional Focal Point for East Africa for the Key Biodiversity Areas Partnership. He was awarded the 2008 Parker-Gentry International Award for Conservation from the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, USA, and the 2016 International Environmental Responsibility Award (IERA) by GreenLife. He was also nominated for the 2016 Indianapolis Prize for Conservation.