Executive Team
Gerry Ellis
Founder and Director
Gerry’s filming project in 2001, Wild Orphans, inspired the founding of GLOBIO. Under Gerry’s leadership, GLOBIO works with international partners in four critical Focal Regions, across Equatorial Africa and Borneo/Sumatra. GLOBIO focuses on great apes and their habitat to create innovative, locally-driven education solutions to foster conservation and environmental awareness and understanding.
Gerry’s award-winning career as an international wildlife film-maker, photographer, and writer spans three-decades and features work appearing in National Geographic, BBC Wildlife, the New York Times, Ranger Rick, and more. He is the author and/or photographer of more than a dozen books, including two in the highly acclaimed National Geographic Kids Book series.
His current work is featured on the GLOBIO YouTube channel Apes Like Us. He is also host of Talking Apes podcast.
Demelza Bond
Media and Communications Manager
Demelza Bond is an experienced communications professional with a strong background in social media management, content creation, and strategic storytelling. As GLOBIO’s Media & Communications Manager, she oversees digital marketing, donor and audience engagement, website and campaign strategy, and the development of grants and corporate partnerships that help expand the organization’s global reach and impact.
Since joining GLOBIO in 2022, Demelza has also served as Assistant Producer of Talking Apes Podcast, managing research, guest coordination, and production to bring science and storytelling together in the fight to protect great apes. Her work across GLOBIO’s projects helps amplify the voices of conservationists and educators around the world.
Before her career in communications, Demelza worked hands-on in primate rehabilitation and welfare in Africa, India, Costa Rica, and Spain. Combining a background in journalism with years of field experience, she brings empathy, clarity, and creativity to her mission of inspiring global understanding and action for wildlife and wild places.
Maegan Leavendusky
Outreach Education Coordinator and GACFP Coordinator
Maegan Leavendusky brings a unique blend of scientific training and on-the-ground conservation experience to her role at GLOBIO. She holds bachelor degrees in anthropology and nursing and a master’s degree in biology. Her graduate work focused on primate behavior, ecology, and conservation-education evaluation, with field experience in Belize, Borneo, and Brazil as well as Cameroon.
At GLOBIO, Maegan works to deepen public understanding of the connections between people and non-human primates. She designs and evaluates conservation education materials, leads outreach efforts, and coordinates the Great Ape Conservation Film Project. Maegan has written about the Project for African Primates Journal. Her recent presentations include sessions at the North American Association for Environmental Education and the 2025 International Gorilla Workshop.
Maegan also serves as a Community Learning Leader with Project Dragonfly at Miami University, collaborating with graduate students and international partners to support community-driven conservation initiatives around the world. She is a member of the IUCN Primate Specialist Group’s Section on Human–Primate Interactions.
Although she is dedicated to the conservation of all primates, gorillas hold a special place in her heart, especially Shufai, a one-armed male western lowland gorilla at the Ape Action Africa Sanctuary whose resilience and strength inspire her daily. His story fuels Maegan’s passion to protect and advocate for the primates who need a voice.
Pippa Cavill
Operations Assistant
Pippa is GLOBIO’s Operations Assistant dedicated to our mission of elevating education, awareness, and inspiring action in the world of apes and primates. In this role, she supports the organization’s outreach, internal operations, and strategic planning. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Oregon, with a concentration in Marketing and Finance. Her academic background in business enables her to contribute to GLOBIO’s mission through effective communication, organization, and operational efficiency.
board of Directors
Colburn Shindell
Board Chair
Colburn is a former secondary school educator and leader who now focuses his time on wildlife conservation and community development projects worldwide. An avid traveler and passionate conservationist, he continues to explore the world on land and under sea. His experience fundraising and leading non-profits compliment his dedication to and love of wildlife. He and his family live in Reno, Nevada.
Mary Ford
Vice Chair
Mary Ford is the Vice President of Roots & Shoots USA, the youth program of the Jane Goodall Institute, where she works to support young people making a difference in their communities. This work builds on over a decade of experience in the education division of the National Geographic Society, serving K-12 students and educators globally. She has a bachelor’s degree in environmental science and a master’s degree in environmental management, but her love of children, teaching, and learning led her quickly to a career focused on environmental education and supporting young people. She has worked as Program Leader for Youth and Educators at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, NY, and Manager of Education at the national headquarters of the World Wildlife Fund and the National Audubon Society in Washington. Mary has served on advisory boards at the San Diego Natural History Museum, BSCS Science Learning, and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. She has been the chair of the board of the North American Association for Environmental Education and has served as a board member and co-chair of the Education Working Group of the Association for Advancing Participatory Sciences. Mary is a longtime resident of the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, DC and also loves to visit her hometown of Minneapolis, MN, where she spends as much time as possible playing in the snow.
Todd Trzcinski
Board Treasurer
Todd is a native of Seattle with a degree from Whitman College and graduate studies in accounting at the University of Washington. He is a licensed CPA and served in several companies, both large corporations and startups, in particular focusing on the high tech service sector. In addition to the Pacific Northwest, he has lived and worked both in Europe and Rwanda and is an avid cyclist and traveler. Todd is currently a resident of New York City, and is consulting to US-based companies doing work in East Africa.
Mary Campbell
Board Member
Mary is a business professional with a B.S. in Business Management from the University of New Hampshire and an MBA from Rivier College. She worked as the Treasury Manager for a commercial division of Lockheed and served as the General Manager at Campbell’s Scottish Highlands Golf Course prior to moving to Washington state in 2007. Mary also serves on the Board of the Feiro Marine Life Center.
An exceptional wildlife photographer, Mary, and her husband Ken, were major image contributors to the success of GLOBIO development of the online children’s encyclopedia GLOSSOPEDIA. She has traveled the world extensively, photographing some of Earth’s most spectacular and rare wildlife, on all seven continents. Mary’s images are donated to nonprofits for use in educational materials and to teach others about our planet’s rich and threatened biodiversity.
Douglas Gastich
Board Member
Doug is a technology leader with over 20 years of experience building online education experiences. He believes deeply in the power of story combined with novel interaction to engage and inspire.
Sean Southey
Board Member
Sean Southey brings more than 35 years of leadership in conservation, international development, and strategic communications. He currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Wildlife Federation—one of Canada’s largest environmental organizations—dedicated to conserving the nation’s wildlife and habitats and inspiring their stewardship for the benefit of all.
With a career spanning government, multilateral institutions, and non-governmental organizations, Sean offers a uniquely multi-sectoral perspective. He began with five years at Environment Canada before moving on to twelve years with the United Nations Development Programme’s environment team. His NGO experience includes serving as Secretary General of ICLEI, Vice President of Rare, and a decade as President of PCI Media. Over the course of his career, Sean has spearheaded more than 100 campaigns worldwide, garnered over 100 awards, and reached billions of people with information and initiatives aimed at protecting life on Earth.
In 2016, Sean was elected Chair of the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Commission on Education and Communication (CEC), a role he held for two terms, concluding in October 2025. During his tenure, he advanced the role of strategic communications in driving social change within the conservation sector. He played a central role in designing and implementing IUCN’s global #NatureForAll movement, strengthened the capacity of the nearly 2,000-member CEC, and championed the recognition of Nature-based Education as a core dimension of IUCN’s work.
A dual Canadian–South African citizen, Sean has lived, worked, and traveled in more than 125 countries. He holds an MSc from the London School of Economics and a BA in Economics from the University of British Columbia. Beyond his professional commitments, he takes greatest pride in being the father of his daughter, Safia.
