Susie Ellis

Susie Ellis, Ph.D., is the Vice President for Conservation International's (CI) Indonesia and Philippines programs, working out of Washington, DC. She oversees management and program development, as well as the scientific integrity of field projects. Dr. Ellis also raises funds and increases awareness of the urgent biodiversity crisis currently facing both countries. Well-known in the international conservation community, she has worked in more than 25 countries and has written more than 80 technical papers, proceedings and book chapters.

Prior to joining CI, Dr. Ellis spent 10 years working for the World Conservation Union's (IUCN) Conservation Breeding Specialist Group, facilitating more than 100 collaborative biodiversity / species conservation and strategic planning workshops and securing the operation of the expert group. With David Wildt, Dr. Ellis co-led a 5-year collaborative interdisciplinary program for giant panda conservation in China that has enhanced collaboration among agencies responsible for their conservation, as well as among U.S.-based partners. She has also worked extensively with the Cheetah Conservation Fund (Namibia) to facilitate its long-range organizational and scientific strategic planning, which has resulted in funding for facility expansion and the organization's scientific direction.

Dr. Ellis is also well known in the zoological community, and has worked for the Minnesota Zoo, Lincoln Park Zoo (Chicago), San Diego Zoo and Sea World, Inc. (San Diego), and as a consultant for the Aquarium of the Pacific (Long Beach).