Join us for a powerful three-day summit marking the launch of a transformative partnership between The Laker Wildlife Initiative (Clayton State University) and the Wildlife Forensic Academy (WFA).
Together, we’re shaping the future of wildlife crime investigation through education, innovation, and international collaboration.
Summit Schedule:
September 17 and 18 | 9:00-16:30 EST – Where Forensics Meets the Wild
Day 1: Dynamic, cross-disciplinary presentations from leading experts in veterinary forensics, animal law, investigation, AI, forensic entomology and taphonomy, the business of wildlife conservation, and wildlife crime and control.
Day 2: Roll up your sleeves for immersive, hands-on workshops—experience real-world forensics, scene processing, and more!
September 19 | 19:00-23:00 EST – Into the Wild: A Forensic Fête Cocktail Gala
An unforgettable evening where science meets nature in a celebration of wildlife conservation. Join for a night of elegant dining, dancing, and philanthropy.
Meet the WFA Team:
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With over 35 years in the Criminal Justice Chain, Andro’s decision to build the Wildlife Forensic Academy came after his visit to the Southern African Wildlife College. After hearing about the extent of wildlife crime, Andro visited a horrific crime scene. Since there were no witnesses, the poachers were going to get away with it. He then noticed there were forensic traces all over the scene, similar to those found on human crime scenes. No one else seemed aware of this. It was then he decided to build the Wildlife Forensic Academy as a way to educate people on how to solve and prevent wildlife crime.
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Dr. Greg Simpson qualified as a veterinarian in South Africa, working in the United Kingdom, Central Asia and Africa. After receiving a Masters Public Health in Developing Countries, as well as a Masters in Wildlife Management, he began developing a unique training clinic for veterinary students in a resource limited community outside the Kruger National Park, South Africa.
The clinic treated all wildlife in neighbouring reserves and not only made a difference to the local community through clinical service provision, but also school learner’s education and research. This research led to a Ph.D. on brucellosis in domestic animals, wildlife and humans.
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Devin is a South African forensic scientist, professional researcher, and higher education teacher with a particular interest in the decomposition ecosystem and carrion ecology as applies to both human and wildlife criminal investigations. He is broadly trained, with four degrees covering human physiology & anatomy, zoology, entomology, biological anthropology, and higher education, and has worked in both South Africa and the UK. He has considerable forensic casework experience through his prior roles as Senior Member of the Forensic Anthropology Cape Town (FACT) Laboratory and co-founder of the Cape Forensic Taphonomy and Entomology (CapeFORTE) Laboratory, both based at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, and ongoing in his current role as a Centennial Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Human Variation and Identification Research Unit (HVIRU) in the Department of Anatomical Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. He is an advocate of transdisciplinary research and education that includes all stakeholders and end-users to facilitate the development of meaningful solutions to society’s most pressing problems, and few are as presently pressing or widely impactful as wildlife crime. Wildlife forensics - the space where Devin’s passions for science, education, justice, and conservation converge - offers achievable solutions to some of the core drivers of wildlife crime, and the helping develop these solutions is at the heart of his work with the Wildlife Forensic Academy.
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Georgio is a multidisciplinary innovator who combines expertise in epidemiology, medical informatics, robotics and artificial intelligence to transform healthcare and business.
As Director of Digital Transformations at AethiQs, he architects strategic technology initiatives while bridging the gaps between the health, financial, and tech sectors.
His work spans management consulting, scientific research, Innovation Management, and higher education, with a focus on hybrid intelligence solutions.
Georgio hold a PhD and MSc from Erasmus University, an MBA from Nyenrode Business University and a MSc in Medical Informatics from Amsterdam University Medical Center.
Through your support, funding will be allocated to student study abroad opportunities in wildlife forensics.
Your contributions not only enrich students' global education but also directly help fund critical forensic training programs for African rangers, empowering them to save wildlife on the front lines.