Dr Simon Stuart, our Director of Strategic Conservation, will step into a new role as Executive Director of A Rocha International from December 2020, but remains in a part-time role at Synchronicity Earth as Chief Scientific Adviser.
At the start of 2017, Simon joined Synchronicity Earth as our Director of Strategic Conservation. In this role – building on the contribution he made as an adviser – Simon has contributed immense knowledge and expertise to our work, guiding our strategic development and raising Synchronicity Earth’s profile among a broad network of conservationists around the world. Having Simon on board in such a key position has given Synchronicity Earth an enormous boost, allowing us to take forward and expand our programmes – in particular, for Amphibians and Asian Species – enhancing our fundraising capacity and fine-tuning our organisational strategy.
In December 2020, Simon’s role as Director of Strategic Conservation at Synchronicity Earth will come to an end as he takes up a post as Executive Director of A Rocha International. Simon has been a part of the A Rocha family for many years, and he steps into this role at a pivotal moment in its history: he will help the organisation to rebuild after the shocking and tragic loss of Chris Naylor, their Executive Director, in a road accident which also resulted in the death of his wife, Susanna and A Rocha International co-founder, Miranda Harris, in South Africa in October 2019.
While we are of course sad to see Simon leave his current role at SE, we know that his acceptance of the role at A Rocha is simply further proof of his incredible generosity and commitment to the cause of conservation, and his unstinting desire to contribute everything he can to making the world a better place.
Working with Simon over the past years has not just been a privilege and an education, it has also been great fun! We will miss having a ‘walking encyclopaedia’ in the office (or on our Zoom calls), but we are delighted that Simon will continue working with us at Synchronicity Earth in an advisory role as our Chief Scientific Adviser. In this role, he will continue to devote some of his time to providing guidance to Synchronicity Earth, contributing to strategic discussions around our programmes, helping us to secure further funding for our work, advising on our participation and positioning within the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and much more besides.
We wish Simon the best in his new role, and cannot think of a better person to take A Rocha’s work forward. And we are secure in the knowledge that, with Simon as our Chief Scientific Adviser, Synchronicity Earth will continue to benefit from his extraordinary knowledge and networks and, more than anything, to enjoy his friendship.
Thank you, Simon.
“It has been a real privilege and joy to work with Simon in the time I’ve been at Synchronicity Earth. I have learnt so much from him and he has been incredibly generous in sharing his wisdom and experience with me! We are all really excited for Simon taking up his new role at A Rocha and proud that he wants to stay on as our Chief Scientific Adviser. I look forward to our continued collaboration and strengthened partnership.” – Kirsty Schneeberger, CEO
