Cynthia brings 20 years of entrepreneurship, socio-environmental justice and community activism, through her roles as founder/co-founder, board director and/or CEO of numerous organizations, both for-profit and not-for-profit in South East Asia and in the U.S. Her experience has been in the fields of organizational leadership, special events and project management, and group facilitation/mediation.

Nancy is the President of the Alexander Abraham Foundation as well as the Flying Elephants Foundation, and has supported LEAP and conservation in Sabah since 2005. Her influence and support of LEAP has been pivotal to its success and she continues to provide a breadth of knowledge and valuable connection.

Caroline is the Founder & CEO of the Shared Earth Foundation and has supported orangutan conservation since 1991. She began her work in Sabah in 2005 following her first trip to that Malaysian State on Borneo. She supports orangutan, elephant and rhino conservation through LEAP and HUTAN. Caroline is a ‘veteran’ board member who sits on 10 boards of various environmental organizations.

Susan Wallace was a founding director of The Wallace Global Fund and The Woodtiger Fund, of which she is currently President. Susan spends much of her time with her husband in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, painting, collecting folkore and engaging in efforts to protect the area’s vernacular architecture and traditional landscape. She also serves on the board of Defenders of Wildlife and is actively involved with The Arcus Foundation.

Katie has worked in environmental and social issues in developing countries over the past 6 years, with a specific love and interest in Borneo.  After completing a MPA in Environmental Science and Public Policy from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, she joined the LEAP USA team as a Borneo project manager.

Sylvia has an honors degree in Zoology and has worked with several international conservation education projects. Based in Sabah for the last 20 years, Sylvia has worked with Sabah Forestry Department, the local ecotourism industry and the Sabah Foundation, focusing on nature interpretation, public awareness and environmental education.

Sue joined the LEAP team at the start of 2009 and brings with her a wealth of experience in graphic design, photography and events management. Born and bred in Sabah, she lived and worked in the UK for 7 years and has also led educational expeditions for young adults to the rainforest of Central America and Borneo and is experienced in jungle training. Sue will be handling the LEAP website and all things graphic and photographic for the Borneo Team!

Winnie brings 20 years of experience in financial management, holds a professional degree in Corporate Secretary & Administration, is a qualified Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and is a qualified TESOL teacher with a Diploma in TESOL from the London Teachers Training College, United Kingdom.

Marilyn hails from California USA, has a degree in Anthropology as well as being a certified accountant and has worked in accounting and management. She now handles the accounting for several non-profits and is interested in reading and travelling.

Neville has a Certificate in Mechanical Engineering from Polytechnic Kota Kinabalu with a distinction in Physics and was previously a wildlife warden for the Sabah Wildlife Department. He has volunteered with government agencies and has undertaken small scale marine and wildlife conservation efforts in the tourism industry. Neville enjoys playing basketball and has a great love of dogs.

Heather is an environmental attorney who has worked as a litigator, policy director and advocate since obtaining her JD from Stanford Law School in 1996. She also has a degree in Economics. She spent ten years working on legal and policy issues related to water quality and land and species conservation in Los Angeles before moving to Sabah in 2007, where she worked with LEAP on various conservation and community projects. She is now part of the LEAP USA team focusing on project and policy issues, as well as grant development and management.

An architect by training and a humanitarian by nature, Daniele sees architecture as the perfect medium to explore and bring to life deeper questions of how we might support the health of humanity– and in turn, the health of our planet as a whole. He is also an aspiring farmer and a shameless adventure junkie.

As a student in the US, Daniele always looked for ways to make a positive impact in his community immediately. Inspired by LEAP’s work, he came to Sabah in the spring of 2010 hoping to continue doing just that. The rest is history.

Ben Gutierrez graduated from Harvard University with a BA in Environmental Science and Public Policy. In 2008 he spent five weeks in Sabah and Sarawak as part of a biology course, and in 2010 he contributed to the report Clean Energy Options for Sabah, commissioned by Green SURF. He enjoys drawing and exploring Sabah’s great outdoors.

Sharmila Kanagalingam joined LEAP as Director of Major Gifts in May 2011. Malaysian born, Sharmila has more than 15 years of experience serving social service and environmental concerns in the United States. She brings a unique blend of international fundraising expertise as well as a true understanding of Southeast Asian society and feels privileged to contribute to LEAP’s growth in the years ahead. Please contact Sharmila at sharmila@leapspiral.org to see how you can help!