Hello WILDLABS Community! 

The 2025-2026 East Africa Community Group Leaders Agriphina Cletus and Susan Chege Reuben are excited to lead this group for the next 12 months. 

Agriphina Cletus is a dedicated female conservationist hailing from Tanzania, deeply committed to nature conservation and community empowerment. She has immersed herself in community-based projects, advocating fervently for the integration of local communities into conservation initiatives. Agriphina has been involved in conservation projects such as promoting human-elephant coexistence in villages within Tarangire-Manyara Ecosystem. Her background is a testament to her unwavering dedication, leadership, and problem-solving skills, all aimed at fostering positive outcomes. Agriphina is also part of our exceptional cohort of Women in Conservation Technology Programme 2024.

Feel free to reach out to Agriphina on her WILDLABS account here. 

Susan Chege Reuben is a conservationist from Northern Tanzania and Conservation Outreach Officer at African People & Wildlife. She has experience in primate studies, ecological restoration, and community-based conservation, with a strong focus on outreach and environmental education. Susan is skilled in applying conservation technology, such as GIS and camera traps, to support ecological monitoring and engagement. As the newly selected Co-Lead of the WILDLABS East Africa Community, she is eager to connect practitioners, share lessons from the field, and explore how technology can serve both wildlife and local communities more effectively. Susan is also part of our exceptional cohort of Women in Conservation Technology Programme 2023. 

Read about Susan here;

https://wildlabs.net/article/impacting-nature-conservation-through-youth-restoration-initiatives-technology

Share Your Ideas for the Group

To build a well-connected and engaged community, we’ve generated ideas that will create a more tight-knit East African conservation tech sector. We have come up with the following ideas

• Creating and posting weekly conservation-tech news, research, and events
• Encourage members to refer friends and colleagues
• Tech-Tip Friday: Share weekly advice on conservation tech in East Africa
• Host quarterly webinars that bring in experts and provide a space for community connection
• Organize in-person meet-ups

Do you have any ideas for events you want to see or types of engagement you think would be useful? Add it in the comments below!

Introduce Yourself

We would also like to get to know each other a bit, including your work, location, and your expectations for this year regarding our group and community.

We welcome everyone to contribute to this thread and suggest new ideas that will enhance our group’s activity and be useful for you and your work.