Naiya joined Maliasili in March 2022, as a new member of the East Africa Portfolio team. With an undergraduate in Human Geography from the University of Durham, and Masters in Environment, Politics and Development from SOAS, the University of London, Naiya focused her studies on the intersection between community development, wildlife conservation, and livelihood resilience. Her previous experience includes human-elephant conflict and coexistence research and education, and she is interested in the importance of communication for NGO’s, with experience in digital content creation and visual storytelling. She previously worked for Save the Elephants, as the Communications and Education Manager for the Elephants and Bees Project, the Human Elephant Coexistence program. Naiya is passionate about the intersection between indigenous knowledge and natural resource management, developing sustainable solutions for environmental problems and supporting communities. She is on a mission to learn, grow, expand her knowledge of CBNRM, and bring her experience to help with Maliasili’s mission of strengthening partner organisations.