Staff Spotlight: Simon Morgan

Title::
Director
After completing his degree and realizing the gap between research and management Simon co-founded Wildlife ACT, a wildlife monitoring organization which aim is to facilitate adaptive management orientated monitoring systems for threatened species.

man and a rhino

What is your favorite travel memory?

Trying to pick out one travel memory is a difficult task, so rather my favorite part of traveling is that feeling you get as you walking out the airport and start your journey into a new country or new region - is the temperature what you expected, the smells different, the way people look or interact with you different. This is the point when you become aware of how different a place really is and whether your expectations are on or not.

Which destination is most underrated? Conversely, which is most overrated?

I always feel that from our own perspective that our very own back door is underrated! Africa has so much to offer and so much that hasn't even been rated yet...

The places which I find overrated are those that are exactly that - as soon as a place becomes too well known or considered I find myself veering away to find a non-rated space.

What do you believe to be the biggest factor in being a successful company?

Transparency and sticking to your ethics.

How have you changed/grown since working for your current company?

We have learnt so much while developing Wildlife ACT, but I feel one of the biggest parts is the growth in our feeling of responsibility for the species we work with and the need to work harder and faster to conserve them.

What unique qualities does your company possess?

We have stuck to our ethical considerations around the way we interact and conserve the environment and the species we work with while ensuring we ethical interact and work with the volunteers who assist us to achieve our goals.

Describe a time when you felt especially proud to be part of your current team

Every day there is something which some member of our team is doing that we can all be proud of.

Whether that is pulling a wild dog out of a snare or listening and answering the same question they have heard a thousand times with patience and sincerity.

What is the best story you've heard from a return student?

One of the best parts of working with Wildlife ACT is the community which has developed around our work and the high number of returning students and volunteers to our projects - last year we had 13% of our team being returnees! That tells a story all by itself.