Dr. Dawn Zimmerman

Dr. Dawn Zimmerman is one of Conservation Nation’s 2022 Established Conservationist grantees. She is the Director of International Programs for the Veterinary Initiative for Endangered Wildlife, assistant professor adjunct of epidemiology at Yale School of Public Health, affiliate faculty at the University of Nairobi, and a Research Associate with the Smithsonian Institution. Dr. Zimmerman has worked in conservation medicine for almost 20 years, focusing on East Africa. She was the global lead for the USAID Emerging Pandemic Threats PREDICT program in Kenya, working to detect pathogens of pandemic potential by investigating the animals most likely to harbor them. Her primary research interests include applying a One Health approach to conserving critically endangered wildlife species and the mitigation of emerging infectious diseases at the wildlife-human interface.
Project Overview

Community-based Conservation of the Percival’s Guereza and
De Brazza’s Monkey

Namunyak Conservancy, Kenya

As part of an ongoing conservation project for Percival’s guereza and De Brazza’s monkey, Dr. Zimmerman will work to inspire local school children of the Nkare-Narok community towards careers in wildlife conservation through education, engagement, collaboration, mentorship, and, most important – opportunities. She plans to create a primary school wildlife club where youth will assist in data collection and monitoring of the endangered Percival’s guereza and the De Brazza’s monkey and support secondary school education for two aspiring female conservationists. This project will focus heavily on community involvement in conservation efforts for Percival’s guereza and De Brazza’s monkey and elevate community roles from community engagement to community collaboration for sustainable conservation.