The Last Animals Foundation

Rebecca Hardin earned an AB in Brown University's Modern Culture and Media program, then an MPhil and a PhD in anthropology at Yale. She has taught at the Sorbonne, the National Museum of Natural History in Paris and McGill University in Montreal, where she retains collaborations with the Center for Indigenous Conservation and Development Alternatives (CICADA). She teaches at the School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan, where she directs collaborations on www.learngala.com, an open-access platform that combines multimodal digital media, narrative, data visualization and translation in learning modules about sustainability.

Her early fieldwork in the Central African Republic grew out of three years in the Peace Corps, first as a beekeeper in areas bordering northern Cameroon and Chad. She was then an ecotourism design and management specialist who supported—and was supported by—anti-poaching guards, interpretive guides and their families at the Dzanga-Sangha Dense Forest Reserve, which borders Cameroon and Congo-Brazzaville. Her current collaborations in Africa include sites in South Africa, Kenya and Gabon, focusing on educational innovation in classrooms, in the field and in organizations as it relates to monitoring and protecting water quality and wildlife populations in biodiverse ecosystems.

Farwiza Farhan, known as "Wiza," is a passionate forest conservationist who works with local communities to protect, conserve and restore the Leuser Ecosystem in Sumatra, Indonesia. She co-founded and chairs the Forest, Nature and Environment Aceh Foundation (Yayasan HAkA), a grassroots organization pushing for better protection of the Leuser Ecosystem through policy and advocacy, community empowerment and habitat protection. Her PhD research at the Centre for International Development Issues Nijmegen (CIDIN) in the Netherlands focuses on the political economy of natural resource management in Aceh, Indonesia. A sought-after speaker at venues from the UN General Assembly in New York to The Elders in South Africa and Women Deliver in Vancouver, she gives keynote presentations that reflect her experience, commitment and passion while connecting the challenges facing Sumatra and Aceh to wider global issues.

"Farwiza Farhan is spearheading efforts to protect the Leuser Ecosystem. Her aim is to shift the balance of power to the local level and support people in defending this incredible ecosystem." —Sir David Attenborough

Davida Heller was promoted to Director and Head of Sustainability Strategy at Citi in 2022. Before that, she was a Senior Vice President on Citi's Sustainability & ESG team. Her work centers on developing and executing Citi's environmental and social initiatives, including its Sustainable Progress Strategy, and she leads Citi's environmental finance goal initiatives. Davida works closely with internal and external stakeholders to build company-wide awareness of sustainability, ESG and climate-related trends, opportunities and risks.

Before joining Citi, Davida was Head of Member Engagement at The Climate Group, a nonprofit dedicated to driving action toward a net-zero-emissions global economy, where she worked with Fortune 500 companies on initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. At the Earth Institute at Columbia University, she managed corporate relations and oversaw professional development for the institute's sustainability education programs. Before dedicating her professional life to sustainability, Davida worked in consulting and feature film development and production in Hollywood.

Ken Close is the CEO of The Quincy Group and a specialist in U.S.-Saudi business and foreign relations. He brings to the firm more than three decades of experience in investment banking, private equity, international business development and government relations in the MENA region.

Ken comes from a long line of educators, missionaries, diplomats and businessmen who have served in the Arab Middle East since the mid-19th century. He is the fourth generation of his family to be born in Lebanon and the fifth to have lived, studied and worked in the Middle East. He enjoys broad and deep relationships in the region, thanks in part to his family's unique history there.

Ken graduated magna cum laude from Duke University with a degree in Middle Eastern Studies and Public Policy.

Jason Mier has proudly served as the Executive Director of Animals Lebanon since the organization's founding in 2008. It is now the most recognized animal welfare organization in Lebanon and the Middle East. Animals Lebanon drafted the National Animal Protection and Welfare Law, which came into full force in 2017, and successfully campaigned for Lebanon to become a party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

During his tenure, Jason led an eight-year court battle in Lebanon that set a legal precedent: animals have both physical and mental welfare, as well as intrinsic rights and interests, that come before the claims of an owner. The charity has received awards for the breadth and impact of its work: joining international conventions, fighting the trafficking of endangered species, closing zoos and circuses, rescuing thousands of animals and responding to tens of thousands of requests for help every year.

Before joining Animals Lebanon, Jason worked for ten years across Africa, the Middle East and Europe, focusing on the rescue and care of chimpanzees and on investigating the global trafficking of great apes.