Patricia Awori

An avid campaigner for wildlife conservation, Patricia is currently an advisor to IFAW’s CEO & President in addition to advising a variety of other organisations and senior government officials. Patricia is also the Director of the Pan-African Wildlife Conservation Network, where she has worked to bring together 26 of the 37 African Elephant Range States under the umbrella of the African Elephant Coalition. She is a member of the East African Wildlife Society and Co-chair of the Kenya Elephant Forum—influential advocacy groups in efforts to protect elephants. Most recently, she helped found the Conservation Alliance of Kenya, which represents the future of advocacy between NGOs and the government. Currently, Patricia serves on the boards of Amboseli Trust for Elephants, Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust, and Tsavo Trust.

Patricia's areas of expertise include community wildlife conservation programmes, policy development, and advocacy. She has contributed to Kenyan legislation including the Wildlife (Conservation and Management) Bill, 2022. She has participated in campaigns such as Hands Off Our Elephants and Jim Justus Nyamu’s walk for elephants. She has attended the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). She has also spoken at forums including the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences.

Born in Nairobi and educated first at a Catholic mission school and later at Lock Haven University in the US, Patricia holds a B.A. in International Relations with a minor in Behavioural Sciences. She has continued her studies in biodiversity and has co-authored a published paper on the subject. Patricia currently resides in Western Kenya, near Lake Victoria. But her real home is out in the wild with the elephants she loves.