TFTSG Membership

2025–2029 Quadrennium

413 current members from 69 countries as of 21 August 2026

If you would like to be considered for TFTSG membership, please contact Natalia Gallego-García and Craig B. Stanford (TFTSG Co-Chairs). We especially seek new members from nations under-represented in our membership who focus on scientific research and/or conservation efforts for tortoises and/or freshwater turtles. We always welcome new members with turtle and/or tortoise expertise and a passion for their conservation. Turtles are in serious trouble and need all the help they can get. If you're interested and would like to contribute to our work, please contact us. We consider membership an honor you earn, but it also carries a responsibility to participate and contribute actively to our turtle conservation efforts. We focus primarily on scientific evaluations of status and threats analysis, and we help catalyze conservation action while avoiding non-scientific advocacy. Membership in the TFTSG is by invitation only, based on experience, expertise, and leadership in freshwater turtle or tortoise conservation and/or biology.

Executive Committee

Natalia Gallego-García

Natalia Gallego-García

Co-Chair

Bogotá, Colombia

Turtle Survival Alliance, North Charleston, South Carolina, USA

Craig B. Stanford

Craig B. Stanford

Co-Chair

University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA

Anders G.J. Rhodin

Anders G.J. Rhodin

Chair Emeritus, Executive Vice Chair, Co-Red List Coordinator

Director, Chelonian Research Foundation, Arlington, Vermont, USA

Chair Emeritus, Turtle Conservancy, Ojai, California, USA

Andrew D. Walde

Andrew D. Walde

Deputy Chair

Turtle Survival Alliance, North Charleston, South Carolina, USA

Vivian P. Páez

Vivian P. Páez

Co-Red List Coordinator

Professor Emeritus, University of Antioquia, Colombia

Vice-Chair, Turtle Conservation Fund

Leadership History

Leadership Committee

  • Natalia Gallego-García, Colombia, United States (Co-Chair)
  • Craig B. Stanford, United States (Co-Chair)
  • Anders G.J. Rhodin, United States (Chair Emeritus, Executive Vice Chair, Co-Red List Coordinator)
  • Andrew D. Walde, United States (Deputy Chair)
  • Vivian P. Páez, Colombia (Co-Red List Coordinator)
  • Torsten E.G. Blanck, Austria
  • Grover J. Brown, United States
  • Kurt A. Buhlmann, United States
  • Mario Cabrera, Argentina
  • Gamaliel Castañeda Gaytán, Mexico
  • Tomas Diagne, Senegal
  • Camila Ferrara, Brazil
  • German Forero-Medina, Colombia
  • Gerardo Garcia, United Kingdom
  • Arthur Georges, Australia
  • J. Whitfield Gibbons, United States
  • Shiping Gong, China
  • Eric V. Goode, United States
  • Jordan Gray, United States
  • Joko Guntoro, Indonesia
  • Brian D. Horne, United States
  • Rick Hudson, United States (Past Deputy Chair)
  • John B. Iverson, United States
  • Gerald Kuchling, Australia
  • Michael Lau, Hong Kong (China)
  • Jeffrey E. Lovich, United States
  • Luca Luiselli, Italy, Nigeria
  • Rodrigo Macip-Ríos, Mexico
  • Pearson McGovern, United States
  • Russell A. Mittermeier, United States
  • Steven G. Platt, Myanmar
  • Kalyar Platt, Myanmar
  • Hugh R. Quinn, United States
  • Caesar Shariar Rahman, Bangladesh
  • Noelikanto Ramamonjisoa, Madagascar
  • Eduardo Reyes Grajales, Mexico
  • Will Selman, United States
  • H. Bradley Shaffer, United States
  • Haitao Shi, China
  • Ricky Spencer, Australia
  • Yik Hei Sung, China
  • Peter Paul van Dijk, United States (Past Deputy Chair)

Full Membership

The following is a list of all TFTSG Members for the 2025–2029 IUCN Quadrennium, including Last Name, First Name, and Country of Residence. Non-members who wish to make contact with members or make enquiries pertinent to turtle conservation efforts by any of these members or in these areas may contact Natalia Gallego-García and Craig B. Stanford (TFTSG Co-Chairs) for more information and referrals to the members.

All members of this TFTSG network of turtle specialists are available as appropriate to help provide commentary, expertise, consultation, and/or guidance to assist turtle conservation efforts or endeavors wherever needed. We will make every effort to meet all legitimate needs and to provide help or advice as necessary. We engage in scientific data-driven technical advice recommendations and do not engage in non-data-driven advocacy. Contact Natalia Gallego-García and Craig B. Stanford (TFTSG Co-Chairs) for any questions.

  • Acebey, Sandra, Bolivia
  • Acuña-Mesén, Rafael A., Costa Rica
  • Ades, Gary W.J., China
  • Adhikhari, Sabin, Nepal
  • Aguirre Leon, Gustavo, Mexico
  • Ahsan, M. Farid, Bangladesh
  • Ainsley, Phil, Australia
  • Aisha, Hamera, Pakistan
  • Akre, Thomas S.B., United States
  • Alcalde, Leandro, Argentina
  • Allman, Phil, United States
  • Altherr, Sandra, Germany
  • Amepou, Yolarnie, Papua New Guinea
  • Anadon, Jose, United States
  • Anders, Ben, China
  • Angley, Jim, United States
  • Arakelyan, Marine, Armenia
  • Aresco, Matthew J., United States
  • Artner, Harald, Austria
  • As-singkily, Maslim, Indonesia
  • Atkinson, Benjamin, United States
  • Attum, Omar, United States
  • Auliya, Mark A., Germany
  • Avery, Harold W., United States
  • Ayres, Cesar, Spain
  • Baard, Ernst H.W., South Africa
  • Baha El Din, Sherif, Egypt
  • Baker, Patrick J., United States
  • Banks, Chris B., Australia
  • Barrett, Heather, Belize
  • Baruah, Chittaranjan, India
  • Basyal, Chitra, Nepal
  • Batistella, Alexandre, Brazil
  • Baxter, Richard, Australia
  • Berry, Kristin H., United States
  • Bertolero, Albert, Spain
  • Bilbeisi, Abeer, Jordan
  • Bjorndal, Karen A., United States
  • Blanck, Torsten E.G., Austria
  • Bock, Brian C., Colombia
  • Bolton, Ryan M., Canada
  • Bonin, Franck, France
  • Bordes, Cédric, France
  • Bourquin, Ortwin, United States
  • Bower, Deborah, Australia
  • Briggs-Gonzalez, Venetia, Belize
  • Brito, Elizângela, Portugal
  • Brown, Grover J., United States
  • Buhlmann, Kurt A., United States
  • Buley, Kevin R., New Zealand
  • Burke, Russell L., United States
  • Bury, R. Bruce, United States
  • Butler, Joseph A., United States
  • Byrne, Paul, United States
  • Cabrera, Mario, Argentina
  • Caccone, Adalgisa, United States
  • Cadi, Antoine, France
  • Calderón-Mandujano, Romel René, Mexico
  • Calle, Paul P., United States
  • Caporaso, Fredric, United States
  • Caron, Sebastien, France
  • Carr, John L., United States
  • Carstairs, Sue, Canada
  • Carvajal, Pamela, Bolivia
  • Castañeda Gaytán, Gamaliel, Mexico
  • Castaño-Mora, Olga Victoria, Colombia
  • Castellano, Christina, United States
  • Ceballos, Claudia, Colombia
  • Chan, Eng-Heng, Malaysia
  • Chatragadda, Ramesh, India
  • Chauhan, Rajeev, India
  • Chen, Tien-Hsi, Taiwan
  • Chen, Pelf Nyok, Malaysia
  • Choudhury, Binod Chandra, India
  • Clavijo-Baquet, Sabrina, Uruguay
  • Colli, Guarino, Brazil
  • Collins, David E., United States
  • Congdon, Justin D., United States
  • Conrad, Cyler Norman, United States
  • Conway-Gómez, Kristen, United States
  • Crews, David, United States
  • Crow, Paul, China
  • Cunha, Fabio, Brazil
  • Currylow, Andrea, United States
  • D'Cruze, Neil, United Kingdom
  • Das, Indraneil, Malaysia
  • de Bruin, Ron W.F., Netherlands
  • De Silva, Anslem, Sri Lanka
  • Deepak, Veerappan, India
  • Dharwadkar, Sneha, India
  • Diagne, Tomas, Senegal
  • Diagne, Lamine, Senegal
  • Diaz Beltran, Luis, Cuba
  • Diesmos, Arvin, Philippines
  • Dodd, C. Kenneth, Jr., United States
  • Doody, J. Sean, United States
  • Dreslik, Michael, United States
  • Drobenkov, Sergey, Belarus
  • Drummond, Gláucia Moreira, Brazil
  • Dupuis-Desormeaux, Marc, Canada
  • Durrant, Kane, Australia
  • Echeverry Alcendra, Andrea, Colombia
  • Eisemberg, Carla, Australia
  • Emmett, David, Cambodia
  • Enders, Steve, United States
  • Engstrom, Tag N., United States
  • Ennen, Joshua, United States
  • Escalona, Tibisay, Portugal
  • Estrades, Andrés, Uruguay
  • Ettmar, Stephan, Austria
  • Fallabrino, Alejandro, Uruguay
  • Famelli, Shirley, Brazil
  • Fanazava, Rijasoa, Madagascar
  • Farkas, Balázs L., Hungary
  • Feisal, Alfian Herdi, Indonesia
  • Feldman, Mark L., New Zealand
  • Ferrara, Camila, Brazil
  • Ferreira Júnior, Paulo Dias, Brazil
  • Ferri, Vincenzo, Italy
  • Ferronato, Bruno de Oliveira, Australia
  • Fidenci, Pierre, United States
  • Fielder, Darren P., Australia
  • FitzSimmons, Nancy N., Australia
  • Flanagan, Joseph P., United States
  • Flores-Villela, Oscar A., Mexico
  • Fong, Jonathan J., United States
  • Fontijne, Wim, Netherlands
  • Fordham, Damien A., Australia
  • Forero-Medina, German, Colombia
  • Fornetti, Alessandro Nati, Italy
  • Frankel, Matthew G., United States
  • Franklin, Carl J., United States
  • Freeman, Alastair B., Australia
  • Freitas Córdova, Joao Diego, Peru
  • Freyer, Daniela, Germany
  • Fritz, Uwe, Germany
  • Gallego-García, Natalia, Colombia, United States
  • Garcia, Gerardo, United Kingdom
  • Gawan, Saurav, India
  • Georges, Arthur, Australia
  • Gerlach, Justin, United Kingdom
  • Germano, David J., United States
  • Ghaffari, Hanyeh, Iran
  • Gibbons, J. Whitfield, United States
  • Gibbons, Paul M., United States
  • Gibbs, James P., United States
  • Gillingwater, Scott D., Canada
  • Gimenez Casalduero, Andres, Spain
  • Godwin, James C., United States
  • Gong, Shiping, China
  • Gonzalez-Porter, Gracia, Mexico
  • Goode, Eric V., United States
  • Gracia Martinez, Eva, Spain
  • Gray, Jordan, United States
  • Griffioen, Christel, Cambodia
  • Griffiths, Owen L., Mauritius
  • Guntoro, Joko, Indonesia
  • Guyot Jackson, Ghislaine, United States
  • Gyawali, Kritagya, Nepal
  • Ha, Hoang, Vietnam
  • Hagen, Cris, United States
  • Hailey, Adrian, Trinidad and Tobago
  • Harapan, Try Surya, Indonesia
  • Harding, James H., United States
  • Heinrich, George L., United States
  • Hendrie, Douglas B., United States, Vietnam
  • Henen, Brian T., United States
  • Heng, Sovannara, Cambodia
  • Hennig, Andreas S., Germany
  • Herman, Thomas B., Canada
  • Hernandez, Omar, Venezuela
  • Hidayat, Oki, Indonesia
  • Ho, Shawn, United States
  • Hodges, Kathryn M., Australia
  • Hollender, Ethan, United States
  • Holloway, Rohan, Australia
  • Holmstrom, William F., United States
  • Hoogmoed, Marinus S., Brazil
  • Horne, Brian D., United States
  • Horta, Gabriel de Freitas, Brazil
  • Howell, Hunter, United States
  • Howeth, Jennifer G., United States
  • Hu, Qiufei, China
  • Hudson, Rick, United States
  • Ihlow, Flora, Germany
  • Inchaustegui, Sixto J., Dominican Republic
  • Innis, Charles J., United States
  • Iskandar, Djoko T., Indonesia
  • Ivanchev, Ivo E., Bulgaria
  • Iverson, John B., United States
  • Jackson, Dale R., United States
  • Jacobson, Elliott R., United States
  • Janzen, Fredric J., United States
  • Jensen, Karen A., United States
  • Johnston, Gerald, United States
  • Jones, Robert L., United States
  • Jones, Michael T., United States
  • Juvik, James O., United States
  • Karraker, Nancy, United States
  • Kartik, Ajay, India
  • Kennett, Rod M., Australia
  • Kessler, Ethan, United States
  • Kiester, A. Ross, United States
  • Klerks, Mark, Netherlands
  • Kopecny, Libor, Czechia (Czech Republic)
  • Krishnasamy, Kanitha, Malaysia
  • Kubisch, Erika, Argentina
  • Kuchling, Gerald, Australia
  • Kundu, Shantanu, India
  • Kwok, Sharon, Hong Kong (China)
  • Landrey, Chuck, United States
  • Lau, Michael, Hong Kong (China)
  • Lauritsen, Ann Marie, United States
  • Lawson, Dwight P., United States
  • Le, Minh, Vietnam
  • Le Duc, Olivier, Vietnam
  • Le Gal, Anne-Sophie, France
  • Lechowicz, Christopher J., United States
  • Lehr, Edgar, United States
  • Leone, Chris, United States
  • Leprince, Benjamin, France
  • Leuteritz, Thomas E.J., United States
  • Lewis, Richard E., Madagascar
  • Lieberman, Susan S., United States
  • Limbu, Nishan, Nepal
  • Limpus, Duncan J., Australia
  • Lindeman, Peter V., United States
  • Lipman, Alison, United States
  • Litzgus, Jacqueline D., Canada
  • Liu, James, United States
  • Liuzzo, Mirko, Italy
  • Loehr, Victor J.T., Netherlands
  • Lopez Luna, Marco, Mexico
  • Louis, Edward E., Jr., United States
  • Lovich, Jeffrey E., United States
  • Luiselli, Luca, Italy, Nigeria
  • Macip-Ríos, Rodrigo, Mexico
  • Malik, Siti Nor Baizurah Abdul, Malaysia
  • Mantziou, Georgia, Greece
  • Maran, Jérôme, France
  • Marlin, Jacob, Belize
  • Marques, Thiago, Brazil
  • Maurer, Max, United States
  • McCaskill, Lonnie, United States
  • McCormack, Tim, Vietnam
  • McCoy, Earl D., United States
  • McDiarmid, Roy W., United States
  • McGaugh, Suzanne E., United States
  • McGovern, Pearson, United States
  • Merchán Fornelino, Manuel, Spain
  • Merz, Stefan, Germany
  • Meshaka, Walter E., Jr., United States
  • Meylan, Peter A., United States
  • Michels, Jan, Germany
  • Mifsud, David, United States
  • Mittermeier, Russell A., United States
  • Mobaraki, Asghar, Iran
  • Mohapatra, Bhabani Sankar, India
  • Moldowan, Patrick, Canada
  • Moler, Paul E., United States
  • Moll, Edward O., United States
  • Mortimer, Jeanne A., Seychelles
  • Mushinsky, Henry R., United States
  • Mwaya, Reginald T., Tanzania
  • Métrailler, Sébastien, Switzerland
  • Nickl, Sebastian, Germany
  • Nottebaert, Claude, France
  • Noureen, Uzma, Pakistan
  • Ogle, Michael, United States
  • Orenstein, Ronald I., Canada
  • Ota, Hidetoshi, Japan
  • Ottonello, Dario, Italy
  • Owens, Thomas C., United States
  • Paasikunnas, Timo, Finland
  • Palomo-Ramos, Rosalinda, Mexico
  • Panda, Ashish, India
  • Pappas, Michael J., United States
  • Parham, James F., United States
  • Patra, Anweshan, India
  • Pauler, Waltraud, Germany
  • Pearse, Devon E., United States
  • Pedrono, Miguel, France
  • Perälä, Jarmo, Finland
  • Pezzuti, Juarez C.B., Brazil
  • Peñaranda Barrios, Efrain Miguel, Bolivia
  • Pfau, Beate, Germany
  • Pham, Thong, Vietnam
  • Pitt, Amber, United States
  • Platt, Steven G., Myanmar
  • Platt, Kalyar, Myanmar
  • Plummer, Michael V., United States
  • Poch, Santiago, Spain
  • Polisar, John, United States
  • Portelinha, Thiago Costa Gonçalves, Brazil
  • Poynter, Bradley, United States
  • Prowant, Lisa, United States
  • Pun, Shyam, Nepal
  • Purkayastha, Jayaditya, India
  • Páez, Vivian P., Colombia
  • Quinn, Hugh R., United States
  • Rabbe, Md. Fazle, Bangladesh
  • Rafeliarisoa, Tsilavo H., Madagascar
  • Raffel, Martina, Germany
  • Rahman, Caesar Shariar, Bangladesh
  • Rakotoarisoa, Ny Aina Tiana, Madagascar
  • Ramamonjisoa, Noelikanto, Madagascar
  • Ramanantsoa, Seheno, Madagascar
  • Ramy, Angelo M., Madagascar
  • Randriamahazo, Herilala J.A.R., Madagascar
  • Randrianjafizanaka, Soary, Madagascar
  • Rao, R.J., India
  • Raphael, Bonnie L., United States
  • Rashid, S.M.A., Bangladesh
  • Razafindrakoto, A. Léon, France
  • Reh, Borja, Spain
  • Rey Ortíz, Gustavo, Bolivia
  • Reyes Grajales, Eduardo, Mexico
  • Rhodin, Anders G.J., United States
  • Ricardez, Viviana, United States
  • Riedle, J. Daren, United States
  • Rioux Paquette, Sébastien, New Zealand
  • Riyanto, Awal, Indonesia
  • Rocha, Sabine B., Brazil
  • Rodrigues, Maurice, United States
  • Rollinson, Njal, Canada
  • Roosenburg, Willem M., United States
  • Rouot, Simon, France
  • Rueda-Almonacid, José Vicente, Colombia
  • Saeed, Khurram, Pakistan
  • Safi, Amtyaz, Pakistan
  • Sahoo, Subhashree, India
  • Salzberg, Allen S., United States
  • Sardari, Pourya, Canada
  • Saumure, Raymond A., United States
  • Schaffer, Jason R., Australia
  • Schilde, Maik, Germany
  • Schneeweiss, Norbert, Germany
  • Schoppe, Sabine, Philippines
  • Scibetta, Salvatore, United States
  • Seidel, Michael E., United States
  • Seigel, Richard A., United States
  • Selman, Will, United States
  • Seminoff, Jeffrey A., United States
  • Senneke, Darrell, United States
  • Shaffer, H. Bradley, United States
  • Sharma, Dionysius S.K., Malaysia
  • Shepherd, Loretta, Malaysia
  • Shepherd, Chris R., Canada
  • Shi, Haitao, China
  • Shoemaker, Kevin, United States
  • Shrestha, Ashmita, Nepal
  • Singh, Arunima, India
  • Singh, Shailendra, India
  • Skibsted, Michael, United States
  • Slavens, Frank, United States
  • Slimani, Tahar, Morocco
  • Smith, Lora L., United States
  • Som, Sitha, Cambodia
  • Souza, Franco L., Brazil
  • Spencer, Ricky, Australia
  • Spinks, Phillip Q., United States
  • Spotila, James R., United States
  • Stanek, Nathanael, United States
  • Stanford, Craig B., United States
  • Starkey, David E., United States
  • Stoner, Sarah, United Kingdom
  • Stuart, Bryan L., United States
  • Sumaila, Haruna Acheriga, Ghana
  • Sung, Yik Hei, China
  • Swingland, Ian R., United Kingdom
  • Tabaka, Chris, United States
  • Talukdar, Animesh, India
  • Tapia, Washington, Ecuador
  • Taskavak, Ertan, Türkiye (Turkey)
  • Thomas, R. Brent, United States
  • Thomson, Scott, Australia
  • Thomson, Robert C., United States
  • Tiana Rakotoarisoa, Ny Aina, Madagascar
  • Trauth, Stanley E., United States
  • Tuberville, Tracey D., United States
  • Tucker, John K., United States
  • Türkozan, Oguz, Türkiye (Turkey)
  • Valenzuela, Nicole, United States
  • Vamberger, Melita, Germany
  • van Dijk, Peter Paul, United States
  • Van Dyke, James, Australia
  • Vargas-Ramirez, Mario A., Colombia
  • Vasudevan, Karthik, India
  • Velosoa, Juliette, Madagascar
  • Vetter, Holger, Germany
  • Villa, Robert, United States
  • Vinke, Thomas, Paraguay
  • Vinke, Sabine, Paraguay
  • Wagner, Philipp, Germany
  • Walde, Andrew D., United States
  • Walker, Ryan C.J., United Kingdom
  • Walsh, Timothy J., United States
  • Walton, Elizabeth M., United States
  • Weissgold, Bruce J., United States
  • Wen, Cheng, China
  • Whitaker, Nikhil, India
  • Wiguna, Arbi, Indonesia
  • Willey, Elizabeth, United States
  • Willis, Jack, Cambodia
  • Zadhoush, Behzad, Iran
  • Zaher, Hussam, Brazil
  • Zappalorti, Robert T., United States
  • Zeigler, F. William, United States
  • Zhang, Fang, China
  • Zhou, Ting, China
  • Zovickian, William H., United States
  • Zuffi, Marco A.L., Italy
  • Zug, George R., United States
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