Helen Wanjiru Gichohi is a Kenyan ecologist who was President of the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) from 2007 to 2013.

Education

Helen Gichohi was born into an agricultural community in central Kenya. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in zoology from Kenyatta University and a Master of Science degree in biology of Conservation from

University of Nairobi , mottoeng = In unity and work , image = Uon emblem.gif , image_size = 210px , caption = Coat of Arms of the University , type = Public , endowment ...

. She went on to the

University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_labe ...

, where she gained a PhD degree in ecology. While working for her PhD, Helen studied the effect of controlled burning on wildlife grazing areas in the Nairobi National Park. Her conclusion was that, properly managed, fire could be helpful in maintaining an open savannah that provides food for wildlife. She has said that she drifted into ecology, partly because she much preferred to work outdoors than inside in a laboratory.

Career

In 1990, while a researcher at Wildlife Conservation International (WCI), Helen Gichohi prepared an environmental impact statement on a commercial Export Processing Zone for the Kenyan government. She became Director of the

African Conservation Centre The African Conservation Centre (ACC) is a non-governmental organization based in Kenya. The group was founded in 1995. In 2007, it received a US$200,000 grant from the Ford Foundation. Their work has focused on capacity building "to conserve wildli ...

(ACC), supported by Wildlife Conservation Society. In 1998 she was appointed to a five-person panel to advise US President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

about

environmental issues in Africa Environmental issues can be defined as the harmful effects of any human activity on the environment. African environmental issues are caused by anthropogenic effects on the African natural environment and have major impacts on humans and nearly a ...

. She joined the African Wildlife Foundation in February 2001 as Director of the African Heartlands Program and in February 2002 she was appointed program vice-president. In January 2006 the President of Kenya awarded Dr. Gichohi the Order of Great Warrior of Kenya Award in recognition of her contribution to conservation. In January 2007 the board of trustees elected her as President of the AWF. She also serves on the board of trustees of the Kenya Wildlife Service. Helen Gichohi features as an expert speaker in the award-winning 2009 movie '' Milking the Rhino''. As of 2011 she was a member of the Local Advisory Committee in Kenya of the Global Give Back Circle. She was a member of board of trustees of the Kenya Land Conservation Trust and of Beads for Education, a non-profit organisation that helps mothers earn money to send their daughters to school. She was a board member of the

Equity Bank Kenya Equity Bank Kenya Limited is a financial services provider headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. It is licensed as a commercial bank by the Central Bank of Kenya, which is the central bank and national banking regulator of Kenya. In 2010 the bank in ...

, which started as a building society, later becoming a microfinance institution and then a full-fledged commercial bank.

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gichohi, Helen Kenyan environmentalists Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Kenyan women scientists 21st-century Kenyan scientists