Libby Khumalo, who joined World Wildlife Fund in May 2019, co-founded Buffalo Nations Grasslands Alliance (BNGA), a Native developed and led 501(c)(3) nonprofit envisioning Native Nations uniting to ensure the diversity of life in the Northern Great Plains flourishes for current and future generations. She now serves as technical advisor to BNGA, supporting organizational development, through providing staff support, strategic planning, fundraising, policy drafting, facilitation, and event planning.
A conservation social scientist by training, the Spokane Co, Washington native studied community-based conservation in Southern Africa. She has taught a variety of conservation and recreation courses for the College of Forestry and Conservation at the University of Montana. After obtaining her Doctorate in Forestry, she worked for the Center for Large Landscape Conservation, assisting partners in the Blackfeet Nation, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, and the Fort Belknap Indian Community with climate change adaptation planning and implementation. Libby has coordinated many initiatives that spark new ideas and engagement, including the annual International Seminar on Protected Area Management, the Hands Across Borders transboundary conservation workshop, and new activities for the Helena (MT) Community Gardens. Libby loves to hike, dance, run, garden, travel, and write and perform comedy.
