Team

Management Team (2025-2026) 

Our management team operates on a fully voluntary basis. Currently, the team comprises two core members and an annually selected coordinator from our alumni community.

Gao Yufang

Founder & Director

Gao is an interdisciplinary conservationist with a joint Ph.D. in Conservation Science and Environmental Anthropology from Yale University. Over the past two decades, he has worked with international, national, and local organizations on a wide range of conservation projects, primarily in the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayas. He currently serves as Co-Chair of the IUCN China Species Specialist Group and is a Research Affiliate of the InterAsia Initiative at Yale.

Emma Chen

Co-Founder & Program Officer

Emma is an alumna of the 2018 Conservation Edgewalkers cohort. She holds a Bachelor of Veterinary Science from Massey University in New Zealand and works as a veterinarian at the Dunedin Wildlife Hospital. She has supported several conservation organizations, including the Nyanpo Yutse Conservation Association.

Lhomokyi

Program Coordinator

Lhomokyi is an alumna of the 2023 Conservation Edgewalkers cohort and is studying Ecology at Tibet University in China. Her work focuses on advancing community-based ecotourism across the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. She currently supports two local conservation organizations in southeastern Tibet, focusing on their ecotourism and environmental education programs, and is initiating a project to train young Tibetan eco-tour guides.

Gao Yufang

Founder & Director

Gao is an interdisciplinary conservationist with a joint Ph.D. in Conservation Science and Environmental Anthropology from Yale University. Over the past two decades, he has worked with international, national, and local organizations on a wide range of conservation projects, primarily in the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayas. He currently serves as Co-Chair of the IUCN China Species Specialist Group and is a Research Affiliate of the InterAsia Initiative at Yale.

Emma Chen

Co-Founder & Program Officer

Emma is an alumna of the 2018 Conservation Edgewalkers cohort. She holds a Bachelor of Veterinary Science from Massey University in New Zealand and works as a veterinarian at the Dunedin Wildlife Hospital. She has supported several conservation organizations, including the Nyanpo Yutse Conservation Association.

Lhomokyi

Program Coordinator

Lhomokyi is an alumna of the 2023 Conservation Edgewalkers cohort and is studying Ecology at Tibet University in China. Her work focuses on advancing community-based ecotourism across the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. She currently supports two local conservation organizations in southeastern Tibet, focusing on their ecotourism and environmental education programs, and is initiating a project to train young Tibetan eco-tour guides.

Former Coordinators and Contributors

We are grateful to the following individuals who have previously served as coordinators or played important roles in the management of the Conservation Edgewalkers Program. Their contributions have been integral to the development and growth of our community.

Weiyang Zhao

Co-Founder & Advisor

Weiyang co-founded Conservation Edgewalkers and played an important role in shaping the program during its early years. Although no longer directly involved in day-to-day operations, she continues to provide valuable support and guidance to the team as needed.

Yiqing Wang

Former Program Coordinator

Yiqing is an alumna of the 2019 Conservation Edgewalkers cohort and served as Program Coordinator from 2023 to 2024. She is currently pursuing an MSc in Environmental Science at Yale University and works as a research assistant at the School of Life Sciences, Peking University.

Lurui Huang

Former Program Coordinator

Lurui is an alumna of the 2023 Conservation Edgewalkers cohort and and served as Program Coordinator from 2024 to 2025. She is pursuing a master’s degree in Anthropology at Sun Yat-sen University in China. Her work focuses on conservation, plural knowledge systems, and human–nonhuman interactions. She is currently supporting a local conservation group on the Eastern Tibetan Plateau with its “One Health” community-based conservation project.

Junhan Hu

Former Program Assistant

Junhan is an alumnus of the 2019 Conservation Edgewalkers cohort and served as Program Assistant from 2020 to 2021. He completed an MSc in Environmental Science at Yale University and is currently pursuing a PhD in Anthropology at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, National University of Singapore.

Yiran Wei

Former Program Assistant

Yiran is an alumna of the 2020 Conservation Edgewalkers cohort and served as Program Assistant from 2021 to 2022.