Rare’s Senior Vice President of Global Programs, Paul Butler, blogs about the last seven Pride campaign managers to receive their training at the University of Kent in England, Rare’s first training site. Paul reflects on the array of conservation campaigns that this institution has helped produce, as well as the origins of Rare’s Kent program which is permanently transitioning to Georgetown University in Washington. D.C.

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The final seven Prirde campaign managers to graduate from the University of Kent. They are, Olivia Carballo-Avilez, Belize (top insert); Feria Narcisse-Gaston, St. Lucia (bottom insert); Cheryl Calaustro, Guam (standing, far left); Tublai Ililau, Palau; Shelley Cant, Bahamas; Cathleen Cybele, Republic of Mauritius; and Brooke Nevitt, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.


“Global Conservation is in Local Hands” was the theme of a graduation presentation that I attended Thursday, May 14th at the University of Kent in Canterbury, about six miles from where I live in the UK. It had been a long and busy day, putting together a talk that I’m giving at the International Parrot Convention later this month, while preparing an assessment to “evaluate” the on-going work of thirty campaigns that are active in the field, as well as trying to complete my half-yearly personal assessment plan, and respond to a cascade of emails. By the time 6 p.m. rolled around I’ll admit I was pretty tired; but that day was a special day and one that I literally had looked forward to all year long.

It is a time when a group of campaign managers return to their university to talk about the progress they are making toward their conservation goals, and about high and low points of their campaigns. Watching young people talk with passion and commitment about their sites and the complex issues they face always makes me proud to work for Rare and I feel privileged and fortunate to find myself in this job. That day was no exception. Indeed I was doubly excited as we had not one but two different groups of conservationists returning.

The event also represented a passing of an era, as it is the last time that we will run our program through the University of Kent, as we shift our English-language training center to Georgetown University in Washington D.C. – a stone’s throw away from Rare’s office in Arlington, Virginia. Having set up the Kent program back in 2001, there was certain poignancy about the occasion — watching the UKC lecture staff (Ian Bride, Bob Smith and others) who played such a key role in developing the initial curriculum, reflect on the fact that this is the last group of Rare Pride campaign managers that they are directly involved with.

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In 2001, Paul signs the MOU with Kent University. Rare’s Pride English Program was housed at Kent until 2009. The training program at the University of Kent has produced 47 Pride campaigns.

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The first conservationists to be trained at Kent, along with Rare staff and Kent staff. Paul Butler is center.

It was a time to reflect on the 47 students that have passed through the doors at Kent. Campaign managers from countries as far as the fields of South Africa, Sierre Leone, Mauritius, Seychelles and Kenya in Africa; to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Fiji, Palau, Guam, Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, and Samoa in the Pacific; to China, Thailand, Laos, Indonesia and the Philippines in Asia, not to mention Belize and multiple islands throughout the Caribbean. With an 85 percent graduation rate and many managers being given “distinction” for their studies we can all be justly proud of the relationship that has served our respective institutions well, as it has conservation. Past campaign managers can reflect on protected areas they have established (in Fiji, Indonesia, Palau, and the Philippines to name a few) and behaviors changed, as well as the fact that the majority have continued in their conservation careers.

The evening began with a poster session and an opportunity for the audience to walk around and see materials produced by the seven campaigns that were presenting that evening. Posters, t-shirts, bags, bumper stickers, songs and costumes were displayed, while our Pride campaign managers shared their stories.

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Cathleen shows off some of her campaign materials.

Rare staff included Sean Southey, Vice President of the Pride English Program; Ariela Rosenstein, Rare’s Training Manager; Adam Murray and Annalisa Bianchessi who are both Pride Program Managers or mentors to the conservationists; as well as Duncan Thomas and Lisa Matusiak who had been working with the campaign managers  to help them  analyze campaign results, craft their final reports and prepare for the evening. We were joined by Rosemary Godfrey who left Rare last year after playing a pivotal role in developing the Kent program, and was its first Pride Program Manager. We all filed into the lecture hall took our seats and were welcomed by Sean who set the scene talking about Rare, Rare Pride, and the returning conservationists who had completed their Pride campaigns: Cathleen Cybele (Mauritius); Shelly Cant (Bahamas); Olivia Carballo-Avilez (Belize); Feria Narcisse-Gaston (Saint Lucia); Brooke Nevitt (CNMI); Cheryl Calaustro (Guam) and Tublai Ililau (Palau). Sean talked passionately about the seven women and their work; then the lights dimmed, the screen lit up and Cathleen took the stage…

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