Barbara Slee

While volunteering at the Charles Darwin Research Station on the Galápagos Islands, a baby marine iguana climbed on Barbara’s shoulder and wouldn’t move from there for the rest of the afternoon. It was a pivotal moment (even though a residing biologist later explained that the iguana probably thought she was just a big rock to which it could warm up) and she decided to dedicate her life to protecting nature and wildlife.  

She completed her third PADI diving certificate among sea cucumbers and hammerhead sharks on the Galápagos and finished her two bachelors and two master’s (International Law and Environmental Studies) at Leiden University where she researched traditional knowledge and management of tropical forests. She even lived among the Shuar indigenous people in the Ecuadorian Amazon for a short time, and to this day continues to value the contribution of indigenous peoples and the importance of uniting the interests of animals and people. 

Barbara moved to Brussels and worked at IFAW as a Political Officer and later as EU Marine Lead, playing a key role in the historic vote to ban seal products from commercial seal hunts in 2009 and successfully defending the ban at the World Trade Organisation. Barbara left IFAW for a few years to work with various NGOs, specialising in the fight against illegal wildlife trade through undercover investigations and supporting law enforcement.  

Back at IFAW as Senior Program Manager within the International Policy Programme, Barbara now uses her language skills (Dutch, French, Spanish, English, German) and advocacy experience to collaborate with governments, industry, and NGOs for ambitious conservation policy goals and effective implementation. This includes work in different international agreements, such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES), the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), and Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Barbara has authored several articles and publications on wildlife trade in big cats and sharks, and currently she works on landscape conservation, climate change, wildlife crime and marine issues.