Danielle manages Wildlife ACT’s Southern Berg and Big Cat Programmes, driving Leopard conservation across KwaZulu-Natal alongside Cape Vulture and Bearded Vulture protection. With an advanced Diploma in Nature Conservation and field experience monitoring Western Derby Eland in Senegal, she brings strategic programme leadership and hands-on conservation expertise to everything she manages.
Danielle grew up in Johannesburg, with childhood adventures through Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Namibia shaping her decision to pursue a career in Nature Conservation. Her third year of study took her to Senegal, where she worked on the conservation of the Western Derby Eland in a rural setting, an experience that exposed her to the realities of species preservation on the ground. After completing her advanced Diploma in Nature Conservation, she joined Wildlife ACT in April 2016, falling instantly in love with Zululand.
Danielle now manages the Southern Berg Programme, including the Southern Berg Project and the Mzimkulu Vulture Hide, the Big Cat Programme, the Manyoni Monitoring Project, and Conservation Safaris.
Based in Howick and working across KwaZulu-Natal, she oversees the full programme management cycle, from securing funding and developing grant proposals to managing field and project teams, coordinating wildlife monitoring, and contributing to landscape-level conservation planning in partnership with reserve management and conservation bodies. Her work centres on Leopard conservation, alongside the protection of Cape Vulture and the Regionally Critically Endangered Bearded Vulture.
Outside of work, Danielle enjoys time at home with her pets, hiking, camping, and birding, and has a particular fondness for working through camera trap footage.
“At the heart of it, I believe every small action leads to a bigger consequence. That belief, combined with the privilege of seeing these species in the wild, is what keeps driving the work forward.”