Dr. Samuel Wasser

Roles: Special Guest

Dr. Samuel Wasser holds the endowed chair in Conservation Biology at the University of Washington, where he is a Professor in the Department of Biology and Director of the Center for Conservation Biology. He is acknowledged worldwide for developing noninvasive tools for monitoring human impacts on wildlife. His accomplishments include using DNA to identify Africa’s largest elephant poaching hotspots, tracking the number and connectivity of major ivory traffickers operating in Africa, and uncovering strategies that transnational organized crime syndicates use to acquire and move their contraband around the world. This work has led to successful prosecutions of some of Africa’s most notorious transnational ivory traffickers.