A woman with short, gray hair and a nose piercing, smiling at the camera, wearing a magenta and gold-striped top, in an outdoor setting.

Man wearing glasses and a wide-brimmed hat taking a selfie with a green chameleon on a branch in a lush, leafy environment.

A woman with long, wavy brown hair, smiling and looking to the side at the beach, wearing a green top.

Woman with curly hair smiling while looking at her phone, sitting on a bed or sofa.

A woman with long, wavy gray hair, wearing a white shirt and a dark jacket, smiling in front of a yellow wall with artwork.

A smiling man with short hair and a beard, wearing a dark shirt, standing outdoors with a blurred background.

A woman with brown hair and bangs, wearing a black T-shirt, sitting in front of a wall of decorative black stones, smiling at the camera.

Akanksha Sood Singh
Natural History Filmmaker, The Gaia People

Akanksha Sood Singh is at the forefront of natural history filmmaking in India. With a career spanning 2 decades, she has produced some of the biggest wildlife films to come out of the country. Her work has been televised across the globe and won critical international acclaim. She has won four National Film Awards given by the President of India, the Diversity Leadership Award by the World Congress of Factual Producers and is one of the Jurors for the International Emmy – Documentary category. Akansha is also the founder of the Women of the Wild series in India, Pakistan and Malaysia.

Arun Dayanandan
PhD Candidate, Yale University

Arun Dayanandan is a Ph.D. student at Yale University’s School of the Environment studying how industrial forestry can incorporate traditional management and restoration practices to improve biological and economic productivity while better serving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Prior to starting at Yale, Arun completed a M.Sc. in Aquatic Chemical and Behavioural Ecology in Montréal, Canada, studying fish cognition for use in marine and aquatic species restoration. Through multi-national governmental scientific support, his research has brought him to Australia, Atlantic Canada, Galapagos Islands, India, Madagascar, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka.

Danielle Broza
Digital Lead, PBS Nature

Danielle Broza is the digital lead for PBS Nature, overseeing the strategy and content efforts for the 40+-year-old brand's online presence. Before that, she was a founding member of PBS Digital Studios, PBS's original digital network of educational series, a producer for National Geographic, contributing to Nat Geo's first digital series, and a senior producer managing the video teams for Gizmodo and Earther. She’s devoted her career to championing legacy brands, all with a focus on science, conservation, exploration, wildlife and the environment.

Gunjan Menon
Co-founder & CEO, Beyond Premieres

Gunjan Menon (she/her) is a National Geographic Explorer and conservation filmmaker from India. She has written, shot and directed films on human-wildlife coexistence, endangered species, wildlife expeditions and is known for her impact-driven storytelling. Over the last nine years, Gunjan has won multiple accolades with over 40 awards and nominations across 15 countries, including the prestigious Jackson Wild Rising Star Award in 2020, a Best Student Film award at the International Wildlife Film Festival and a student BAFTA nomination. Her work has been broadcast on Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, Nat Geo Wild, Disney+ Hotstar, BBC Earth, Netflix, Youtube, Buzzfeed and local Indian platforms. Gunjan holds a Master’s degree in Wildlife Filmmaking from the University of the West of England, Bristol, inpartnership with BBC-NHU and during her years in Bristol, she directed and shot the critically acclaimed short film, ‘The Firefox Guardian’ in Nepal, which later became a part of the 3-part series ‘WildLives’. Gunjan is the Co-founder and Director of ‘Beyond Premieres’, a non-profit organisation that supports filmmakers to create tangible impact through their art.

Mac Cardona
Producer, Bellowing Media

Mac Cardona is passionate about engaging communities with science and nature, especially those that are still underrepresented in the sciences. With her background in wildlife biology (B.S in Wildlife Biology, HSU), science and nature storytelling (M.S. Biology, HSU), and Latinx community engagement; Mac founded cWave Labs. cWave Labs is a creative lab that helps leverage creative strategies and digital technologies to help communities connect, learn, collaborate and innovate. In the process, Mac and the cWave Labs’ diverse team develop content, design programs, facilitate events, workshops, and build collaborative platforms. Mac is especially interested in increasing Latinx representation in all kinds of storytelling.

Natalie Cash
Executive Producer, Wildlife Conservation Society

Natalie Cash is the Executive Producer in charge of video production at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), an international conservation organization founded in 1895 as the New York Zoological Society. With three decades of experience in the industry, Cash produces short-form programming about WCS projects and stories for multiple platforms. Cash is a Fellow of the Explorers Club and serves on the Board of the New York WILD Film Festival and the Advisory Council of Jackson Wild. Prior to joining WCS, she was a series producer and writer at the Emmy Award-winning documentary production company Pangolin Pictures.

Roshan Patel
Media Producer, Smithsonian Institution

Roshan is a filmmaker in Washington, D.C. Currently, he is the media producer for Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute where he produces short films, exhibit installations and social media content. He earned his MFA in Science and Natural History Filmmaking from Montana State University and has produced award-winning short films on a variety of topics, from Asiatic lions in western India to coral conservation in the Caribbean. In addition to his independent films, he has produced films for the National Park Service, World Wildlife Fund and Smithsonian Institution.

Sally Snow
Impact Media Director, Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines (LAMAVE)

Sally Snow is a Zoologist and Filmmaker. She is an Executive Director for the Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines, an NGO dedicated to the conservation of marine megafauna and their environment in the Philippines. A passionate science communicator she has worked with the BBC, National Geographic, S4C and PTS in diverse roles from associate producer, undercover filmmaker, self-shooting presenter and fixer for blue-chip series. Sally believes in conservation filmmaking as a tool for behavioural change and delivering stories that connect people and the environment. Her recent work in the Philippines uses "impact media" to address knowledge gaps (identified by research), to raise awareness in key audiences (e.g. tourists, community stakeholders, government units) and create behaviour changes to protect marine wildlife and the marine environment. She was awarded the Jackson Wild Rising Star Award in 2019.

Hans Cosmas Ngoteya
Director & Cinematographer, Ngoteya Wild

Hans Cosmas Ngoteya is a distinguished wildlife and conservation storyteller from Tanzania, committed to e ecting positive change through his work. As a co-founder of Ngoteya Wild, he has directed award-winning documentaries that showcase both the significance and beauty of nature. He also established the Tanzania Wildlife Media Association (TaWiMA), which supports and mentors emerging wildlife storytellers. In 2023, Hans was honoured with the Jackson Wild Rising Star Award in recognition of his substantial contributions to conservation and e orts in promoting harmonious coexistence between communities and wildlife. His work has been featured by some of the world's most renowned broadcasting organisations. Hans has served as a jury member for several notable festivals, including Jackson Wild and Wildscreen, and provided his expertise for the Natural History Museum's Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025 competition. His participation in these distinguished events demonstrates his continued commitment to celebrating and advancing wildlife storytelling.

Alex Dainis, PhD
Owner/Digital Producer, Helicase Media, LLC

Alex Dainis is a freelance science communicator and video producer with a PhD in Genetics from Stanford University and over a decade of experience producing digital, educational content for the web. She was honored to be a 2019 Jackson Wild Media Lab Fellow and is now co-instructor of the Media Lab. She is additionally a winner of the 2024 National Academies Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications. Recent projects include “Hungry Planet,” a six-episode series for PBS Digital Studios, as well as hosting and writing for the American Chemical Society’s Reactions YouTube channel.