Helen Crowley, Ph.D.

Country Director, Madagascar Program, Wildlife Conservation Society

Helen Crowley has been working in conservation for over 20 years. She started her career as a wildlife biologist in Australia where she did research on field ecology in a range of endemic wildlife species including Marsupial Mice, Fur Seals, Pygmy Possums and Bilbies! She was born in Tasmania, Australia, and did her Honours degree in Zoology at the University of Tasmania. She then went on to do a Ph.D. at the Australian National University in Canberra.

As post-doctoral researcher she worked for two summers with the Australian Antarctic Expeditions investigating the recovery (after decimation by sealers at the turn of the century) of the Fur Seal populations on the sub-Antarctic island, Macquarie Island (4 days sail south of Tasmania!).

Helen was always interested in the role of zoos in conservation and spent some time in 1985 doing a course on Captive Breeding of Endangered Species at the Jersey Zoo in the Channel Islands and then going on to do some work in Marwell Zoo.

It was during her time at Jersey Zoo that Helen’s love of lemurs and desire to work in conservation in Africa came together and led her to Madagascar. She arrived in Madagascar in 1990 and has kept her interest and passion about this country since then. Initially she worked as the first Manager of Berenty Reserve in spiny forests of South Eastern Madagascar. Later she went on to do short consultancies in ecotourism and training with WWF and Conservation International. She met and married her husband, David Meyers, a primatologist and conservationist in Madagascar and after several years together in Madagascar they decided to spend some time in the USA. During her first few years in the USA, elen worked as an environmental consultant to help large companies and corporations to become “greener”.

In 2000, Helen joined Wildlife Conservation Society as the Assistant Director of Africa Program for WCS. In this post, she was responsible for managing the conservation programs in Madagascar and Central Africa. After two years working for WCS in NYC, Helen and Dave and their children (Samantha and Benjamin) decided to return to Madagascar when the opportunity arose to take on the leadership of the Madagascar Country Program. Since 2003, Helen has been the Director of the Madagascar Country Program which has grown to encompass, not only, the long term sites of Masoala but also new sites such as the Makira, growing Marine and Coastal Conservation Program and extensive environmental education and ecotourism development activities.