Simon co-founded Wildlife ACT after working as a Black Rhino monitor in Zululand, where he identified the need to enhance and outsource existing species monitoring programmes. With 20 years in biodiversity monitoring and species conservation, including five years as Associate Director for Conservation at Stanford University’s Program for Conservation Genomics, he now drives Wildlife ACT’s conservation footprint and the global expansion of high-integrity nature credit frameworks.
Simon studied Zoology at Stellenbosch University before moving to Zululand, where he was employed as a Black Rhino monitor. It was during this work that he and his colleagues identified the need to enhance and outsource existing species monitoring programmes, an idea that became Wildlife ACT.
Simon is one of Wildlife ACT’s co-founders and trustees, and works to grow the organisation’s conservation footprint and awareness. He has spent 20 years working in biodiversity monitoring and species conservation, including five years as Associate Director for Conservation at Stanford University’s Program for Conservation Genomics, where he helped translate advanced scientific tools into practical conservation applications.
Simon now focuses on driving the global expansion of high-integrity nature credit frameworks, work that builds on Wildlife ACT’s conservation model to strengthen scientific integrity and align rewilding projects with emerging regulatory and disclosure frameworks.
“We roll up our sleeves and work at a very practical level in the field to help save Africa’s endangered wildlife.”