Dr. Tammie Bettinger joins Kasiisi Project Board

The Kasiisi Project is thrilled to welcome Tammie Bettinger, Ph.D. to the Kasiisi Project Board of Directors. ​Tammie brings more than 30 years of experience in the  conservation and animal fields. Tammie retired in 2017 as the Animal Operations Director at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. While there, she chaired the Disney Conservation Fund’s Africa Committee for more than a decade. Tammie is an expert on primates and great apes, and has held leadership roles in the International Primatological Society, AZA's Chimpanzee Species Survival Plan, and the sanctuary sector. She was a former board member for Chimp Haven and the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance and helped found the Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education (GRACE) Center for orphaned Grauer's gorillas in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

Tammie has worked extensively in Uganda on conservation education programs, leading training for educators at the Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary, chimpanzee trekking guides at Pabidi, and community educators at Bushingiro (Pabidi and Bushingiro are in Budongo Forest). Through her work with GRACE, she has also collaborated with Kasiisi Project on education programs with primary schools. Tammie is especially passionate about working with local communities and is excited to join the Kasiisi Project team. She said, "The only way to conserve chimpanzees is to empower people living closest to them. I have been following Kasiisi Project's work for more than 20 years and am so impressed with the impact they've made at Kibale. I look forward to contributing in any way I can." 

We are honored to have Tammie in this leadership role and look forward to working with her.