Our Team

Salama! I'm a Malagasy self-taught wildlife painter and graphic designer, based at the edge of Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar. My formal education is in Environmental Science and Biodiversity Conservation. Aside from doing art for art's sake, I've had the chance to work with several conservation and education organizations such as Madagascar Fauna and Flora Group, PLAY Madagascar, Centre ValBio and Manga Maso, for which I create outreach and educational materials. I am also an alumni Fellow at The Safina Center, a nonprofit based out of New York. With their support, I opened my first art gallery by Ranomafana National Park in 2023, and have been able to help VOI Mitsinjo, a local community organisation that manages part of the Ranomafana forest, improve their infrastructure and outreach. I am deeply motivated to convey the beauty and importance of Madagascar's wildlife through art and to continue contributing to its conservation efforts through oloNala. You can view my work on Portfolio Box.

Mme. Josiane brings decades of experience in conservation, natural resource management, and protected area management as former Director of Ranomafana National Park. Since early 2026, she splits her time as an environmental educator across our nature journaling program and our friends over at VIPs Fund's Ecology 101 class, both held at the Ranomafana Nature Center. She received an Engineering Degree in Agricultural Sciences, Forest and Forest Resource Management from the University of Antananarivo. We're very lucky to have her on our team to share her expertise and passion for Ranomafana with the students!

Having worked for conservation non-profits in various roles, including environmental educator, communications officer, graphic designer, and researcher, I’ve learned the value of science communication and storytelling in fostering an appreciation of the natural world. I'm excited to bring that to oloNala and look to combine my applied conservation research in Madagascar with oloNala's creative mission. I am currently a Master’s student in International Nature Conservation at the University of Göttingen, Germany, and Lincoln University, New Zealand. I received my MBA from Quantic School of Business and Technology in 2026 and my Bachelor’s degree from Stony Brook University, USA, in Ecosystems and Human Impact and Geospatial Science in 2022. Connect with me here!

Sydney graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) with her Master’s in Environmental Science in 2021. Her thesis research evaluated wetland mitigation projects across 38 sites in New York State. While conducting her research, Sydney worked with a number of collaborators spanning government agencies, private entities and non-profits. Her passion is in understanding socio-ecological relationships, where she uses her research skills to inform on-going project implementation and management. In 2023, Sydney received a Fulbright Scholarship to conduct independent research in Ranomafana, Madagascar. While living abroad for nine-months, Sydney evaluated a community-based conservation initiative that had been operating in the Ifanadiana District since the early 2000’s. She developed and piloted her evaluation protocol aiming to understand the achievement of the program’s intended impact while also maximizing outcomes and helping provide data driven guidance for the future. Now a PhD student back at RIT, Sydney is excited to combining her love of Madagascar with her skills in program evaluation to ensure that oloNala's programs are as effective as possible, every step of the way. We're lucky to have her on our team!