This week, Conservation Force expanded its team by adding Joseph Goergen as Director of Conservation Strategies. Goergen brings more than a decade of proven leadership in natural resource policy and international affairs aligned with Conservation Force’s commitment to sustainable use and mission to amplify the positive contributions of sportsmen and women to wildlife and habitat conservation globally.
Goergen spent his early career as Conservation Manager at Safari Club International Foundation, in addition to a diversity of bipartisan organizations. He played a pivotal role in elevating strategic leadership of the African Wildlife Consultative Forum, an annual gathering of senior government officials, private sector tourism operators, and community leaders. During his tenure at SCIF, his efforts transformed this event into a powerful coalition that enabled African collaboration on wildlife management priorities and cooperation between African stakeholders and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service on enhancement through hunting.
A trained wildlife biologist, Goergen holds a Master of Science from Michigan State University’s prestigious Boone & Crockett Program. His graduate thesis evaluated effects of environmental factors and the role of governance performance on the financial sustainability of communal conservancies in Namibia, conducted in collaboration with Conservation Force partners in-country. This analysis included a comparison of the hunting and photographic tourism industries and suggested recommendations for wildlife co-management innovations and expanding the scope of joint venture or NGO partnerships to improve income generation from community-based natural resource management.
Most recently, Goergen served as Head of International Policy for Jamma International, where he developed advocacy strategies that facilitated proactive engagement from indigenous peoples and local communities in public policy debates and tourism markets. He also supported the International Conservation Caucus Foundation Group, helping accelerate public-private partnerships for protected areas management and carbon restoration, such as the Miombo Forest Initiative, and partner engagement focused on sportsmen’s groups. Goergen maintains a Research Associate affiliation with the African Wildlife Economy Institute at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, is current Secretary/Treasurer of The Wildlife Society’s International Wildlife Management Working Group, and is an active member of the IUCN Sustainable Use & Livelihoods Specialist Group.
Throughout his career, Goergen has worked closely with Conservation Force and its network of government and operator partners, engaging both in high-level multilateral forums such as CITES and IUCN and on-the-ground management of a large grant portfolio for wildlife research and anti-poaching projects. He brings valuable experience in government relations, multicultural diplomacy, partnership development, workshop facilitation, non-profit fundraising, and communications – combined with a scientific background and technical understanding of wildlife economies. He will continue to live and work from Washington, D.C. which has been his primary base for more than a decade, thus expanding Conservation Force’s Capital coverage.
“Conservation Force is the most trusted advocate for the international hunting industry, recognized by governments, operators, and hunter-conservationists”, said Goergen. “I’m extremely grateful and excited to apply my unique experience to this conservation legacy.”
“Joe is an emerging leader with great potential and the precise skillset to be a true Conservation Force multiplier”, said John Jackson, President. “He is recognized and respected across the globe. He will immediately increase our influence in policy engagement, species management planning, and other strategic conservation initiatives as we meet our growing MOU obligations in Africa and collaboration with Dallas Safari Club in the international conservation arena. Joe is also expected to assist Marco Pani, our Director of International Programs.”
When he’s not advancing global conservation goals in Washington, D.C. or Africa, Goergen enjoys hunting and fishing, particularly in his home state of Wisconsin, and adventure travel abroad. He received his B.A. in Environmental Studies from Tulane University in New Orleans, where Conservation Force is headquartered. Conservation Force is a non-profit, public foundation with nearly 30 years of unparalleled conservation successes.
For further information, please contact John Jackson, President of Conservation Force, at jjjiii@att.net and +1-(504)-453-2754 or Joe Goergen at joe.goergen@conservationforce.org and +1-(414)-331-7355.
