Dr. Laurie Marker

Dr. Laurie Marker is a zoologist, researcher, author, and educator recognized for her expertise in cheetah conservation. As a research scientist and conservation biologist, Marker has conducted research, developed conservation models, and established collaborative efforts focused on cheetah survival. She began her career working with cheetahs at Wildlife Safari, a wildlife park in the United States, and later traveled to Namibia to study the rewilding of captive-born cheetahs. Her research demonstrated that cheetahs raised in captivity could be taught to hunt, and she identified the significant threat posed by livestock farmers killing wild cheetahs, which placed the species at risk.

In response, Marker founded the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) in Namibia, initially operating from a small farmhouse in Otjiwarongo. She approached cheetah conservation as a comprehensive issue, involving local communities, farmers, and government agencies. Marker developed programs to support farmers, including free training in predator identification and livestock management. Through CCF, she has restored thousands of acres of Namibian farmland, introduced livestock guarding dogs to Africa, established training initiatives for rural residents, and advised government officials on issues such as the illegal pet trade. Marker also created Future Farmers of Africa, which has trained more than 50,000 rural Namibian and Somaliland farmers.

Under her leadership, CCF has become a leading institution for cheetah research, education, and conservation, recognized as the longest-running and most successful cheetah conservation program globally. CCF Namibia houses the Life Technologies Conservation Genetics Laboratory, the only cheetah genetics laboratory in Africa, which maintains the world's largest wild cheetah database of biological samples. Marker also established a CCF branch in Hargeisa, Somaliland, to address the illegal trafficking of wild-caught cheetahs for the exotic pet trade. The CCF Somaliland Cheetah Safe House provides care for orphaned cheetah cubs rescued from traffickers. Marker led a team that reintroduced cheetahs from Namibia to India, restoring the species after a prolonged absence.

Marker earned a DPhil in zoology from Oxford University and served as an A.D. White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University. She has published more than 150 scientific papers and four books, including "A Future for Cheetahs," "Chewbaaka," and "Cheetahs – Biology and Conservation." Her work has been featured in Smithsonian Magazine and National Geographic, as well as on television programs such as The Tonight Show, Good Morning America, CNN, and the Today Show. Marker has also delivered a TED Talk on the ecological impact of cheetah extinction.

Marker has received the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, The Tech Museum of Innovation's Intel Environmental Prize, and was named a Hero for the Planet by TIME Magazine. Additional honors include the Ulysses S. Seal Award for Innovation in Conservation, the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Technology Pioneer Award, the Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Medal Award, and the Explorers Club President's Award for Conservation. She has also received the Lifetime Achievement in Research Award from Namibia's National Commission on Research, Science and Technology, recognizing her contributions to conservation and scientific infrastructure in Namibia. Marker continues to advance cheetah conservation through education, research, and collaboration with scientists and conservationists worldwide.