The People of Tsavo Trust
Our Team
A field-based team of Kenyans and conservation professionals, working every day across the Tsavo Conservation Area in support of KWS and WRTI.
senior Management team
Richard Moller
Richard Moller co-founded Tsavo Trust in 2012, at the height of the ivory poaching crisis in Kenya, and has led it as Chief Executive Officer ever since. Born and raised in Kenya, he has spent more than 30 years protecting wildlife and has lived full time in Tsavo since 2011.
Richard brought to Tsavo Trust a decade of senior leadership at Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, where he was Deputy to the Chief Executive Officer and helped shape the early community conservancy model in northern Kenya.
Under his leadership, Tsavo Trust has grown from one aircraft and a handful of staff to four aircraft and thirteen ground teams. Almost all of its 60 field personnel come from neighbouring communities. All field work is carried out jointly with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), in partnership with the Wildlife Research and Training Institute (WRTI). Since 2013, recorded elephant poaching has fallen from 105 cases a year to one so far in 2026, and black rhino numbers in the Tsavo West Sanctuary have more than doubled. Richard also set up the long-term monitoring of Tsavo’s Big Tuskers, which today follows 41 individual tuskers in one of the last strongholds of Africa’s great tusked elephants.
Richard believes wildlife protection only lasts when neighbouring communities benefit too. With the County Government of Makueni and Kamungi Conservancy, he led work on a 33-kilometre elephant exclusion fence that has cut human–elephant conflict by more than 80% in the Kamungi area. That partnership has also brought investment in health, water, education and community-owned tourism.
Richard is a bush pilot with more than 5,500 flying hours and stays closely involved in field operations. He has been a KWS Honorary Warden since 2002 and sits on the KWS Elephant Management and Stakeholders Committee and the Hirola Management Committee for the Tsavo Conservation Area. He has backed Tsavo Trust, KWS and WRTI staff through Master’s and doctoral studies, and several of Tsavo Trust’s senior team began their careers with the organisation.
Nicholas Haller
Nick joined Tsavo Trust full time in August 2019 and leads its aerial unit, which provides air cover across the Tsavo Conservation Area. He manages the aircraft fleet, from day-to-day flight coordination with the teams on the ground to maintenance, insurance and compliance, so the aircraft are ready whenever the field teams need support from the air. On the ground, he works with the Chief Conservation Officer to deploy the de-snaring teams and manages Tsavo Trust’s vehicle fleet.
Beyond routine aerial reconnaissance, Nick has flown in support of many specialist operations. In both helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft he has:
- supported the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) in fitting VHF horn transmitters to black rhinos
- supported elephant collaring operations with KWS and Save the Elephants, and the monitoring of collared elephants that follows
- flown in the Tsavo wildlife censuses led by KWS and the Wildlife Research and Training Institute (WRTI)
Nick earned his fixed-wing pilot’s licence in 2018 and has since flown more than 3,000 hours of low-level bush flying over the Tsavo parks. In 2024 he completed helicopter training and gained his commercial helicopter licence, and he now has more than 400 hours on the Robinson R44. Born in Kenya, he lives full time at Tsavo Trust’s headquarters in Kamungi Conservancy and has been a KWS Honorary Warden since 2021.
Mophat Peter
Mophat joined Tsavo Trust in 2018 as a Research Assistant and became Community Officer before moving into his current role as the M&E Officer and is a key part of the Senior Management Team. He led the development and rollout of Tsavo Trust’s Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Plan, and worked with colleagues across the organisation so that it is used in day-to-day work, not only for reporting. He manages the data behind Tsavo Trust’s wildlife and community programmes, including human–wildlife conflict records and wildlife counts in Kamungi Conservancy.
Mophat also helps Tsavo Trust tell its story. He develops the impact stories and success stories shared with donors and partners, and mentors colleagues in MEL and beyond. In 2025 he represented Tsavo Trust at the IUCN World Conservation Congress.
He holds a BSc in Natural Resources Management from Egerton University and an MA in Project Planning and Management from the University of Nairobi. At Nairobi he finished in the top 5% of his cohort. He is now studying for a PhD in Project Planning and Management at the University of Nairobi, researching how communities can take part in monitoring conservation and define what success looks like.
Joseph Kyalo Kimaile
Kyalo was born and raised in Voi, and his love of wildlife began on childhood visits to the Tsavo parks. He was one of Tsavo Trust’s first employees, joining in 2014 as a field officer on the Big Tusker Project. He has been Chief Conservation Officer since 2019. He leads the wildlife monitoring and research teams and is Tsavo Trust’s main link with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and the Wildlife Research and Training Institute (WRTI).
His teams monitor Tsavo’s Big Tuskers alongside black rhinos, hirola, lions, painted wolves and other priority species, the painted wolf work running under WRTI’s scientific leadership. Kyalo set up Tsavo Trust’s SMART database, which brings together the data from its security, monitoring and community work. That data has guided joint anti-poaching patrols with KWS and the siting of human–wildlife conflict measures. Road and rail kill records collected by the teams also supported the case for wildlife crossings on the Standard Gauge Railway and the Voi–Taveta highway.
Kyalo holds a BSc in Wildlife Management from the University of Eldoret and an MSc in Geoinformatics from Taita Taveta University. He was part of Maliasili’s African Conservation Leaders Network in 2021–22. He has held a private pilot’s licence since 2018 and has flown more than 800 hours of aerial surveys and anti-poaching patrols, many of them with KWS rangers.
Nicholas Njogu
Nicholas joined Tsavo Trust in July 2022 to lead its Community Conservancies Programme, working with Kamungi Conservancy and communities across the wider Tsavo landscape. He already knew Kamungi well, having worked alongside Tsavo Trust on the conservancy’s Social Assessment of Protected and Conserved Areas (SAPA) before he joined. He leads Tsavo Trust’s community work in: education, healthcare, water, clean energy, climate-smart agriculture, human–wildlife coexistence and more.
That work is delivered with the County Government of Makueni, conservancy leadership and the Kenya Wildlife Service, so communities help shape conservation and share in its benefits.
Before Tsavo Trust, Nicholas spent six years at Ol Pejeta Conservancy as Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist and Digital Literacy Coordinator. There he ran a digital literacy programme that trained more than 400 teachers and reached over 9,000 students in Laikipia and Malawi. He also helped develop the Theory of Change and M&E Plan for Ol Pejeta’s 2020–2030 strategy. He brings the same data-led approach to Tsavo Trust, using monitoring results to guide decisions and show partners and donors what their support has achieved.
Nicholas holds a Diploma in Monitoring and Evaluation from Daystar University and is studying for a degree in Development Studies at the Management University of Africa.
Oliver Etale
Oliver joined Tsavo Trust in June 2021 and leads its finance team. He oversees financial management, internal controls, audits and financial reporting across all of Tsavo Trust’s programmes, so that every grant is managed and accounted for to the standard donors and partners expect.
Oliver is a Certified Public Accountant with more than 20 years’ experience in audit and finance. He spent ten years at the audit firm Joy V. Bhatt & Co (now Moore JVB LLP), rising from audit clerk to Audit Supervisor. He then held senior finance roles in the private sector, most recently as Chief Accountant at Debenham & Fear before joining Tsavo Trust.
Patricia Njogu
Patricia joined Tsavo Trust in 2023 as Assistant Finance Officer. She supports grant management, budget preparation and financial reporting to donors, and makes sure Tsavo Trust meets its financial and regulatory obligations. Her work helps make sure every grant is spent as agreed and accounted for clearly, across both the wildlife protection and community programmes.
Before Tsavo Trust, Patricia spent eight years as an accountant in the private sector, working in accounts payable, financial reporting and day-to-day finance operations. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance from the University of Nairobi and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).
Alia Haller
Alia has worked full time for Tsavo Trust since April 2020 and manages its relationships with donors and partners. She leads the organization’s fundraising, from writing grant proposals to reporting back to supporters, and makes sure every funder can see what their support has achieved in the field. She works closely with Richard and the Board on the organization’s long-term goals. She also supports the wider Tsavo Trust team to strengthen how it works, particularly in communications and monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL), so that results from the field are captured well and shared clearly.
Alia is Kenyan and has lived in the bush since she was a child. She holds a BSc in Animal Biology and Conservation from Oxford Brookes University and worked as a field research assistant on the Kalahari Meerkat Project in South Africa. Before joining Tsavo Trust, she ran field operations and administration for Friends of Arabuko-Sokoke Forest on the Kenyan coast. Her science background and field experience help Tsavo Trust show its supporters clear, evidence-backed results.
Elizabeth Atieno
Elizabeth joined Tsavo Trust in November 2017 as its Accountant. For five years she managed cash flow, payroll and tax, and prepared the financial reports for donor grants. In 2023 she moved into human resources and administration. As Human Resources Officer, she oversees Tsavo Trust’s HR policies and legal compliance, staff welfare and insurance, staff development and personnel management across a growing team.
She also manages bookings for the Kamungi Conservancy Eco Bandas, the community-owned guest accommodation whose income goes directly to the people of Kamungi.
Elizabeth holds a BSc in Applied Statistics with Computing from Maasai Mara University and a Diploma in Business Administration and is completing a Higher Diploma in Human Resource Management.
Benson Epae Nadio
Benson brings more than two decades of experience in wildlife protection, ranger training and field operations to Tsavo Trust.
He began his career with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) in 2001, progressing through operational and command positions over 14 years. His postings included Sibiloi and Amboseli National Parks, the KWS Special Operations Unit in Isiolo, and command responsibilities at Ndiandasa and Ithumba — with duties spanning anti-poaching, intelligence, investigations, human-wildlife conflict response, operational planning and ranger deployment.
Benson also served as a KWS ranger trainer, delivering courses in tactical operations, GPS use, radio communications, combat first aid, human-wildlife conflict management and wildlife law.
His qualifications include a Diploma in Security Management from the Kenya Institute of Criminal Justice, and specialist training through the KWS Law Enforcement Academy, the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK), and the US Homeland Security Diplomatic Service.
At Tsavo Trust, Benson leads the security dimension of our field operations across the Tsavo Conservation Area, in support of KWS and WRTI. He is fluent in English, Kiswahili and Turkana.
Board & Governance
Governed in partnership.
Tsavo Trust is a registered Kenyan not-for-profit, overseen by a Board of Trustees that guides our strategy, governance and accountability.
Uniquely, the Kenya Wildlife Service and the Wildlife Research and Training Institute each hold an institutional seat on our Board. It keeps the authorities who lead conservation in Tsavo fully informed of our work, and keeps us aligned with their mandate and national priorities.
Richard Moller
Richard Moller co-founded Tsavo Trust in 2012, at the height of the ivory poaching crisis in Kenya, and has led it as Chief Executive Officer ever since. Born and raised in Kenya, he has spent more than 30 years protecting wildlife and has lived full time in Tsavo since 2011.
Richard brought to Tsavo Trust a decade of senior leadership at Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, where he was Deputy to the Chief Executive Officer and helped shape the early community conservancy model in northern Kenya.
Under his leadership, Tsavo Trust has grown from one aircraft and a handful of staff to four aircraft and thirteen ground teams. Almost all of its 60 field personnel come from neighbouring communities. All field work is carried out jointly with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), in partnership with the Wildlife Research and Training Institute (WRTI). Since 2013, recorded elephant poaching has fallen from 105 cases a year to one so far in 2026, and black rhino numbers in the Tsavo West Sanctuary have more than doubled. Richard also set up the long-term monitoring of Tsavo’s Big Tuskers, which today follows 41 individual tuskers in one of the last strongholds of Africa’s great tusked elephants.
Richard believes wildlife protection only lasts when neighbouring communities benefit too. With the County Government of Makueni and Kamungi Conservancy, he led work on a 33-kilometre elephant exclusion fence that has cut human–elephant conflict by more than 80% in the Kamungi area. That partnership has also brought investment in health, water, education and community-owned tourism.
Richard is a bush pilot with more than 5,500 flying hours and stays closely involved in field operations. He has been a KWS Honorary Warden since 2002 and sits on the KWS Elephant Management and Stakeholders Committee and the Hirola Management Committee for the Tsavo Conservation Area. He has backed Tsavo Trust, KWS and WRTI staff through Master’s and doctoral studies, and several of Tsavo Trust’s senior team began their careers with the organisation.
Hon. Justice Nzioki Wa Makau
Justice Nzioki wa Makau chairs the Tsavo Trust Board and has served on it since the organisation was founded. He is a Judge of the Employment and Labour Relations Court of Kenya. Before joining the bench, he served as a prosecutor with the Kenya Anti-Corruption Authority, and as an attorney and investigator with the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission and its successor, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission. He holds an LLM in Animal Law from Lewis & Clark Law School in Oregon, USA.
A lifelong conservationist, Nzioki has been visiting Tsavo since he was a child. He is a hands-on Chairman who visits Tsavo regularly and stays closely involved in the organisation’s development. He brings to the Board a career in public service and a firm commitment to integrity and good governance.
Stuart Herd
Stuart Herd is a third-generation Kenyan entrepreneur whose business interests include The Talisman restaurant in Nairobi. A childhood friend of Richard Moller, he backed Tsavo Trust from the start. A pilot himself, he donated the Piper Super Cub that helped launch Tsavo Trust’s aerial work.
Stuart continues to support Tsavo Trust’s strategy and fundraising. He has personally funded solar home systems for community members and KWS rangers in the field, and started the Edyouvid programme, which gives Tsavo Trust staff and Kamungi Conservancy community members certified training in fields including hospitality, administration, management and finance.
“Africa and Kenya in particular have a wonderful wildlife resource that we all must help to protect.”
Patricia Awori
Patricia (Pat) Awori is Director of the Pan-African Wildlife Conservation Network. In that role she helped bring 30 of the 37 African elephant range states together under the African Elephant Coalition. She has contributed to Kenyan legislation including the wildlife bill and is a founder member of the Conservation Alliance of Kenya. She also serves on the boards of the Amboseli Trust for Elephants and the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust.
Pat holds a degree in International Relations, with a minor in the behavioural sciences, has continued her studies in biodiversity and has co-authored a published paper on the subject.
“The Tsavo Conservation Area is the flagship for conservation in Kenya.”
Conrad Thorpe OBE
Conrad Thorpe founded Salama Fikira, an enterprise risk management company, in Kenya in 2005 and has led it for more than 20 years. The company now works across much of Africa, with a growing presence in Asia and Europe. Alongside its core services, it provides conservation support and training, and operational design and planning.
Before founding Salama Fikira, Conrad served in HM Royal Marines and attended the UK’s Advanced Command and Staff Course. He holds an MA in War Studies and Defence Technology. Born in Nairobi, he grew up on the coffee farms north of the capital. He brings to the Board deep experience in security, risk management and operational planning.
James Ndegwa
James Ndegwa is an experienced business leader with extensive expertise in governance, finance and strategic management. He is Chairman of ICEA LION Group and of First Chartered Securities Limited, a private investment holding company with interests across financial services, agriculture, property and logistics. From 2015 to 2021 he chaired the Capital Markets Authority, where he played a key role in strengthening Kenya’s financial regulatory environment.
James brings significant governance and investment oversight experience to Tsavo Trust, supporting the organisation to strengthen financial stewardship, risk management and long-term sustainability. He holds an MA (Hons) from the University of Oxford and is an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute (UK) and the Insurance Institute of Kenya.