Our people
Daniel Ramp
Associate professor and Director, Centre for Compassionate Conservation
Dan is a behavioural ecologist, welfare specialist, and conservation biologist specialising in transdisciplinary approaches to coexistence and sustainability. Since joining the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) in 2011, Dan founded and directs the Centre for Compassionate Conservation (CfCC) in 2014. He leads the development of research, teaching, and public outreach in the centre, where the goal is to stimulate innovation, novel research, and conservation practices that promote multispecies flourishing. Dan conducts scientific research on human-wildlife interactions, wildlife trade, sustainable agriculture, conservation practice, and wild animal welfare while also collaborating widely with other disciplines. He has led multiple ARC and CRC projects, working with government and industry to engage in evidenced-based policy transformation that promote multispecies coexistence and sustainability, particularly in production landscapes.
Find out more about Daniel Ramp
Rosalie Chapple
Senior Research Fellow and Deputy Director
Rosalie is a cross-disciplinary conservation ecologist with a focus on protected areas and wildlife, and habitually engages with socio-politically contentious issues such as bushfires, feral animals, dingoes, wild horses, and Indian street dogs. A key inspiration is working with Indigenous peoples to reimagine how we practice conservation. Rosalie has been based in the TD School at UTS since 2023, where she is Senior Research Fellow and Deputy Director of the Centre for Compassionate Conservation. Her current research is on the behaviour and welfare of Indian street dogs. She works across academic, government and non-government sectors, including as a consultant, and teaches part-time in the Master of Environmental Management program at the University of NSW Sydney (UNSW). In 2004, she co-founded the Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute where she held various positions, including as Executive Directive and Research Director, and remains on the Board of Directors.
Find out more about Rosalie Chapple
Andrea Harvey
Chancellor’s Research Fellow
Andrea is a veterinarian and animal welfare scientist who undertakes research at the intersection of ecology and animal welfare, investigating how to scientifically assess the welfare of wild animals, evaluating how their welfare varies in different contexts, and how this can be used to assist in conservation decision making that optimises wild animal welfare. Andrea graduated in veterinary science from the University of Bristol, UK, in 2000 and underwent extensive post-graduate training obtaining specialist qualifications in veterinary internal medicine, feline medicine and ANZCVS memberships in animal welfare. She spent 16 years in veterinary specialist practice and academia, before undertaking a PhD at UTS on wild horse ecology and welfare. She has been involved in Government advisory panels on wild horse management, and in her spare time has been heavily involved in rehoming and training wild horses.
Arnick Abdollahi
Research Scientist
Arnick is a research scientist specialising in Earth and space science Informatics, artificial intelligence (AI), and agricultural and environmental sciences. Arnick is currently contributing to the Foragecaster project funded by the Food Agility CRC and several industry partners including AgriWebb, Cibolabs, and FLINTPro. Arnick is researching data-driven methods to assist farmers establish environmental resilience practices that promote biodiversity alongside food security. Arnick has published extensively and received several grants, awards, internships, and scholarships, including being short-listed for the Australian Space Awards' Scientist of the Year 2024. He has taught undergraduate and graduate courses and supervises the research of honours and graduate students in various Earth observation and AI topics.
Esty Yanco
Project Manager
Esty’s transdisciplinary research integrates ethics, ecology, and the human dimensions of conservation to explore opportunities for improving cohabitation between wildlife and people on shared landscapes. Her research interests include examining the ethical and practical foundations of human-wildlife coexistence, investigating the One Health benefits of sharing space with wildlife on food and fibre production landscapes, and developing practical approaches to improving attitudes towards wildlife and increasing moral inclusion of non-human animals. Her work advocates for tangible change by engaging in projects that foster compassion for wildlife and the environment and that build pathways to healthy coexistence through education, outreach, and collaboration. Esty has a dual BA in Biology and Geography (Dartmouth College), an MS in Conservation Medicine (Tufts University), and was awarded a PhD in Socio-ecology from the Centre for Compassionate Conservation at UTS in 2022. She continues to work with the team as a research associate and skilled research project manager.
Suhridam Roy
Data Analyst
Suhridam is working with the Centre to understand the lived experience of India’s street dogs (Indies) as part of the transdisciplinary ROH-Indies project. He is based in Bengaluru office of Socratus, which is a studio for thinking through and addressing wicked problems. Suhridam uses behavioural data, remote sensing, and artificial intelligence to identify the conditions that enable dogs and people to lead healthy lives alongside each other. Suhridam is finalising his PhD with the Nature Conservation Foundation India where he worked on Sarus Crane.
Recent Centre alumni
- Marine Desprez, Research Fellow
Project: Crop yield prediction using microclimate data and machine learning - Finbarr Horgan, Research Fellow
Project: Coexistence farming and compassionate conservation - Boyu Ji, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow
Project: Crop yield prediction using microclimate data and machine learning - Rachael Nolan, Research Fellow
Project: Managing risk in carbon markets - Arian Wallach, Chancellor's Research Fellow
Project: Do apex predators enable native–non-native coexistence? - Eamonn Wooster, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow
Project: Decolonising One Health approaches to street dogs in India - Kyle Zawada, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow
Project: Foragecaster; Crop yield prediction using microclimate data and machine learning - Miriam Zemanova, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow
Project: Landscape fragmentation impacts on kangaroo populations
Research assistants
The research we conduct around the world would not be possible without the many assistants and volunteers we employ from time to time.
