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Santi Saypanya
Country Program Director, Laos
For more than 15 years, Dr. Santi Saypanya has been assisting Lao PDR to better manage their protected areas, especially focused on facilitating the involvement of forest-dependent communities through development through conservation.
Dr. Saypanya holds a BA in business, an MA in social marketing in conservation and a Ph.D. in conservation, and began his career with Wildlife Conservation Society in 2002.
In January 2016, Dr. Saypanya began serving as Country Deputy Program Director with the Wildlife Conservation Society in Lao PDR, leading the development of National Protected Area management.
In January 2019 Dr. Saypanya was named the WCS Lao PDR Country Program Director.
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Manoly Sisavanh
Deputy Country Director, Laos
Manoly Sisavanh is a dedicated leader in natural resource management, recognized for her contributions to environmental policy and sustainable development in Lao PDR. Since 2019, she has served as Deputy Country Director for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Lao PDR Program, where she co-leads a diverse and dynamic team of 100 professionals in designing and executing conservation strategies, programs, and projects that align global environmental goals with the country’s socio-economic development priorities. Her collaborative approach has been instrumental in driving key policy reforms in protected areas, wetlands, and wildlife conservation. She also supervises WCS Laos’ initiatives on counter-wildlife trafficking and One Health, addressing environmental and public health challenges holistically.
Prior to joining WCS, Manoly worked at the World Bank (2012-2019), where she contributed to shaping Laos’ green growth agenda. Her contributions to the development and implementation of several high-impact projects, including the Laos Environment and Social Projects (LENS and LENS2), the Participatory Sustainable Forest Management Projects (SUFORD series), and the Mekong Integrated Water Resources Management Project, have significantly advanced the country’s environmental and social governance frameworks. Earlier in her career, she supported national public health efforts at the National Emerging Infectious Disease Coordination Office (2011-2012), focusing on strategic communication for the control and prevention of emerging infectious diseases like Avian Influenza and Swine Flu.
Manoly's influence extends to regional and global platforms, where she is celebrated as a respected advocate for environmental and social justice. She was honored with the 2019 Mary Robinson Climate Justice Award and has been featured in Vanity Fair x One Young World’s Global Goals 2024 list (here). Manoly is deeply committed to empowering future leaders and has served as a keynote speaker and mentor at prestigious forums, including the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative, One Young World, and the Rainforest Youth Summit, where she has inspired thousands of emerging leaders to take conservation action.
Manoly holds a Master’s in International Development from Cornell University (2017) as a Fulbright Scholar and a Bachelor’s in International Relations from the National University of Laos (2010), with an exchange year at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (2008-2009) through the UGRAD Scholarship. Her career is a testament to her dedication to empowering local communities, fostering cross-sectoral and international collaboration, and advancing policies that safeguard our planet for future generations.
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Ben Swanepoel
Program Director: NEPL landscape & WCS Country Program law enforcement advisor
Ben completed his Nature Conservation studies in South Africa in 1987 and was involved in protected area management over a period of 22 years in the South African context. He has a wealth of experience in all aspects of protected areas management and community conservation projects. Ben has a strong mentoring and community engagement philosophy and was one of a two-person team instrumental in the design and implementation of one of the leading conservation services programs in South Africa, the "Working For Water" program. In 2003, Ben obtained his degree majoring in environmental management and industrial psychology. In 2009 Ben was seconded to WWF Laos as a protected areas management advisor, during which time he resigned from his South African position to work full time in Lao PDR. In 2011 Ben joined the WCS Lao country program as program manager for the Bolikhamxay landscape, later transferring to his current position as the Nam Et-Phou Louey landscape director.
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ANOUSONG SINTHAVONG
Accountant
ANOUSONG SINTHAVONG serves as Accountant at WCS.
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Aphone Viengkhamhak
Program Coordinator – GIS
Aphone has worked extensively in the field of GIS with international non-governmental organizations in Lao PDR, particularly in conservation, land-use planning and forest management for more than10 years. She has experience in using different GIS applications and in conducting training in the field, for example on GPS and GIS for government and project staff. Aphone has worked for WCS as a Program Coordinator – GIS since 2014. Based in the Vientiane Office, her main responsibilities are providing maps, data analysis, technical database management and maintenance. She has also provided GIS training and coordinated with all GIS staff based in field sites as well as with government counterparts.
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Bounthanom Sitthixay
Community Consultation Campaign Livelihood Technical
Bounthanom Sitthixay completed his Graduate Diploma of Agriculture and Forestry at Champasak Agriculture and Forestry College in 2007 and graduated with a Higher Diploma of Forestry at Bolikhamxay Agriculture and Forestry College in 2015. He now works with the IEWMP Project.
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Channapha Phouminh
Education and Outreach officer.
Channapha has started her work since she was in University of Laos (The faculty of Environmental and science) as a volunteer call SEED. After that she works as a fieldworker for 4 years for different organizations and companies such as PSI Lao, Environment-Sustainability-Livelihood, Earth Systems Co., Ltd, Lao social research, and Namthuen 2 Hydro Power Company. In 2019 she decided to join WCS as Administration Officer – Grants and Finance position, and since March 2020 she decided to join the ADB program of WCS Lao PRD as Education and Outreach officer.
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Chindavone Keomanykhod
Administrative Assistant
Chindavone KEOMANYKHOD completed her Master's degree in Business Administration and Finance from Santapol College in Thailand, following her bachelors degree in business administration from the National University of Laos. She has worked at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) since 2020 as an Administration officer at the Vientiane office before joining the Savannakhet Landscape Program team as the Finance and Administration Officer. Chindavone believes that, “Everyone can be a good conservationist regardless of gender, because all conservationists share the same values their hearts. Gender balance within teams is important as conservation work needs a good mix of strength and tenderness.”
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Dukky Phasavath
GIS Assistant
Dukky Phasavath graduated from Savannakhet University in 2019 with a Bachelor of Land management Degree in Faculty of Agriculture and Environment. He joined the WCS Savannakhet Landscape program In 2020 as the GIS and Database. He works with all of the landscapes technical staff and government counterparts providing special data and maps for diverse topics including participatory land and water use planning, biodiversity conservation, habitat change, and seasonal flooding patterns.
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Emily Denstedt
Regional Technical Advisor (Health Program)
Emily completed her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Guelph and also holds a Master of Public Health degree. She has worked with an array of both domestic and wild species on a clinical level in North America, Africa, and Southeast Asia. While completing her MPH, she worked at the human-wildlife interface with Docs4GreatApes and Gorilla Doctors building capacity in frontline healthcare workers in Rwanda. Emily is involved in One Health initiatives globally as an active member of the Program Development Committee for Veterinarians Without Borders/Vétérinaires sans frontières. She enjoys teaching and was recruited in 2019 to develop undergraduate courses in One Health for students at the University of Guelph. In 2019, Emily joined WCS and the Wildlife Health Program as the Veterinary Technical Advisor for Laos. She has a passion for conservation medicine and is driven to protect the health of both wildlife and humans by finding solutions using a One Health lens.
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