The Lewa Wildlife Conservancy
Sharon Petrie currently serves as the Chief Development Officer at The Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, starting in January 2024. Previously, Sharon held the position of Director of Partnerships and Communications at Mama Cash from March 2021 to January 2024 and worked as a Non-Executive Director for the Vision Foundation from May 2017 to June 2023, during which time Sharon also participated as a Board Trustee and member of the Risk and Audit Committee. Other roles include Director of Development at Wildlife Justice Commission and interim Director of Partnerships and Communications at Mama Cash. Sharon has extensive consulting experience with organizations such as THINK Consulting Solutions, Fight for Sight, and Lumos. Prior roles at Right To Play from February 2013 to April 2016 included Vice President of Fundraising and Communications, overseeing significant fundraising operations and a large international team. Sharon holds multiple degrees, including an MSc in Development Management from The Open University and a BA in Business Law and Political Science from the University of Strathclyde, along with several professional certifications.
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The Lewa Wildlife Conservancy
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Founded in 1995 from the then Ngare Sergoi Rhino Sanctuary, the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy serves as a catalyst for conservation across northern Kenya and beyond. Lewa envisions a future where people across Kenya continue to value, protect and benefit from wildlife. This future depends on communities being able to derive their day-to-day livelihoods in ways that are compatible with thriving wildlife habitat. As a result, Lewa invests heavily in the livelihoods of its neighbours through programmes in education, healthcare, water, micro-enterprise, youth empowerment and more. These programmes have enabled the Conservancy to build strong relationships and goodwill within the neighbouring communities and ensured that people and wildlife both benefit from Lewa’s conservation efforts. As a catalyst and champion of this model that puts people at the centre of conservation, Lewa has influenced and supported the conservancy management for both private and community lands across northern Kenya. Lewa is also a unique entity in that it is a privately managed conservation area, owned and run by Kenyan people, for the benefit of local communities and Kenyans at large. For the last three decades, Lewa’s innovative practices have resulted in thriving black rhino habitat and population, which in turn creates a robust ecosystem for a multitude of species including the endangered Grevy’s zebra, elephant, lion, cheetah, giraffe and more. Lewa also practices a tourism model that has a low impact on the environment but is maximised to support a proportion of its running costs. The Conservancy also hosts the annual, world-famous Safaricom Marathon.