 |
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.
|
|
 |
Manoly Sisavanh
Deputy Country Director, Laos
Manoly Sisavanh is a dedicated conservationist and advocate for sustainable development. As Deputy Country Director for WCS Lao PDR, she co-leads a team of 100 professionals, driving policy and practice in protected areas, wetlands, and wildlife conservation. She also oversees Counter-Wildlife Trafficking and One Health programs, integrating solutions that address environmental, animal, and human health, while managing office operations to ensure the smooth and compliant execution of conservation activities.
Before joining WCS, Manoly worked at the World Bank from 2012 to 2019, where she contributed to Laos' national green growth strategy and supported environmental projects that strengthened the country’s environmental and social governance frameworks. This includes work in forest management under the SUFORD Series, biodiversity conservation through LENS and LENS2, and water governance through the Mekong Integrated Water Resources Management Project. Earlier in her career, she supported public health efforts at the National Emerging Infectious Disease Coordination Office, focusing on combating emerging infectious diseases.
Beyond Laos, Manoly is a respected global advocate for climate and social justice. She was honored with the 2019 Mary Robinson Climate Justice Award and featured in Vanity Fair x One Young World’s Global Goals 2024 (here). Passionate about inspiring future leaders, she has mentored and spoken at international forums such as One Young World, YSEALI, and the Rainforest Youth Summit.
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 through the UGRAD Scholarship.
|
|
 |
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.
|
|
 |
ANOUSONG SINTHAVONG
Accountant
ANOUSONG SINTHAVONG serves as Accountant at WCS.
|
|
 |
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.
|
|
 |
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.
|
|
 |
Emily Denstedt
Regional Technical Advisor - Health Program, Africa
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.
|
|
 |
Janina Bikova
Ecotourism Advisor
Janina is a Latvian who has been studying and working abroad in France, South Asia and South East Asia since 2010. She holds a MSc Degree in Geography and Sustainable Development in Rural Areas with a focus on Ecotourism, and in 2013 moved to Laos to work in the responsible tourism sector. She joined WCS in 2015 as Ecotourism Advisor for Nam Et-Phou Louey NPA, where her activities focus on ensuring successful management and development of the NPA’s ecotourism by linking together growing community-based tourism activity with conservation objectives.
|
|
 |
Jay White
Nam Et-Phou Louey NPA Technical Adviser
Jay served three years as a US Peace Corps Volunteer in Thailand after graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Wildlife Science from Paul Smith’s College in upstate New York. In 2015, on completing his Peace Corps service, Jay moved to Muang Hiam, Houaphanh Province as an on-site Conservation Intern working with Nam Et-Phou Louey law enforcement patrols and wildlife survey teams in a quality-control role. In 2016, Jay became the on-site Technical Adviser in Nam Et-Phou Louey, a role and stationing he still retains.
|
|
 |
Khamkeo Syxaiyakham Thor
Assistant Program Manager, Laos
Khamkeo Syxaiyakham completed his BSc in Ecotourism from the National University of Laos in 2012 and an MSc in Conservation Ecology from KMUTT, Thailand in 2018. He worked with WCS as an Ecotourism Officer based in Nam Et-Phou Louey NPA from late 2012 to 2015, conducting gibbon research for his Masters’ Degree in NEPL as well as being involved in several wildlife surveys in central Laos. Khamkeo’s responsibility at WCS, as of early 2019, is assisting the Program Manager in supporting the implementation of all program activities in NEPL NPA.
|
|