IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature

Simon Stuart is the Chair of the SSC, based at the Bath office, and has undergraduate and doctoral degrees from the University of Cambridge, with fieldwork in Tanzania and Cameroon. He has over 25 years of experience with the IUCN and the SSC. Simon started work on the African Bird Red Data Book in 1983. He joined the IUCN Secretariat in 1986, and was Head of the Species Programme (1990-2000), Acting Director General (2000-2001), Head of the Biodiversity Assessment Unit (2001-2005), and Senior Species Scientist (2005-2008). He was elected as Chair of the SSC at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Barcelona in October 2008. It is Simon’s job to provide vision and leadership for the SSC in particular, and for the IUCN family on species issues more widely. He chairs the regular meetings of the SSC Steering Committee, and represents the SSC on IUCN’s Council. Simon’s priorities are listed here.

Rachel Roberts is the Executive Assistant to the Chair, based at the SSC office in Bath. Rachel has a Zoology degree from Nottingham University, and gained a Masters (by research) in Ecology and Environmental Management at the University of York where she undertook research projects on badgers, kangaroos and the acclimatisation of plants. She has extensive experience in the field of conservation and, prior to joining the SSC, completed five years of employment in a dual role working internationally with the RSPB and the global BirdLife partnership. Rachel has diverse responsibilities including management of the SSC Chair’s office, provision of support to both the Chair and all the Specialist Groups ensuring regular communication, co-ordination and collaboration between the Chair and all components of the IUCN network worldwide. She also works closely with the IUCN Species Programme Marketing and Communications Officer on SSC communications, and with the IUCN Species Programme Officers to assist with SSC network support. She is also Project Manager of the Amazing Species (previously Species of the Day) web initiative.

Jeremy Harris has been around conservation since he was two years old. Raised in a field study centre in the south of Portugal, Jeremy grew up around a variety of field work carried out on projects from lichen to black-shouldered kites and all in between. Jeremy’s keen interest and love for the natural world took a back seat during his formal education in the UK and, following his graduation from university, he began a successful career in sales and marketing that eventually took him to Vancouver, Canada. After a period working as the development coordinator for a conservation organization in Canada Jeremy moved back to England in 2009 to join the SSC Chair’s office in Bath. As the SSC’s Development Director, Jeremy is responsible for the design, management, and execution of fundraising strategies to grow the contributed revenues to the SSC from all appropriate sources. He also plays a role in the communication and positioning of the mission and vision of the SSC, where this pertains to fundraising and development.

Michael Hoffmann, a South African national, is currently based in the UNEP-WCMC office in Cambridge, UK, where he serves as Senior Scientific Officer to IUCN’s Species Survival Commission. Mike provides technical and scientific support to the work of the Commission and helps ensure uptake of Commission-based research in appropriate policy arenas. He has extensive experience with the IUCN SSC Species Survival Commission and the IUCN Red List categories and criteria, workshop facilitation, networking, and data analysis. Mike previously worked in the IUCN Species Programme (2005-2010), including as manager of the Biodiversity Assessment Unit in Washington, DC, and in the Center for Applied Biodiversity Science at Conservation International (2003-2005). His original area of expertise is mammalogy, having spent time at the Mammal Research Institute at the University of Pretoria, South Africa (1996-1999), and at the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit at the University of Oxford, UK (2000-2002). He is a member of the IUCN SSC Afrotheria, Antelope, Canid and Wolf Specialist Groups, serving as the Red List Authority focal point for canids. He has co-edited six books (including three volumes of the forthcoming The Mammals of Africa) and authored 27 book chapters and 21 peer-reviewed papers (6 in the journals Nature and Science).”