Richard Sluijs

I am the Manager for Current Operations at LEAD Conservation. Together with the team, we ensure that our training, coaching, and mentoring projects are conducted in a professional, well-structured, and safe way. My responsibilities centre around supervision and operational oversight, with a particular focus on supporting the team during leadership programmes and the selection of instructor candidates.

A key part of my role is working closely with our trainers and partners to make sure every intervention is planned effectively and executed to a high standard. This includes assessing field conditions, ensuring alignment with LEAD’s methods, and supporting leadership development within partner organisations. I play an active role in projects that require a high degree of coordination, accountability, and clear communication between teams.

I truly enjoy working in a team with such a wide range of expertise and dedication. The atmosphere is one of respect and humour, and that makes collaboration both effective and enjoyable. The diversity of backgrounds and experience across the LEAD team is one of our biggest strengths—it gives us flexibility, insight, and the ability to adapt our programme to the specific needs of each partner. That adaptability, combined with a shared mission, is what makes our work successful.

This diversity also strengthens LEAD’s wider mission: to guide and support partner organisations in selecting and developing their own instructors and leaders. By doing so, we help them build internal capacity to protect wildlife effectively and humanely—now and in the long term.

I’ve been with LEAD for almost three years now, and I feel genuinely privileged to be part of an organisation with such a clear purpose and solid group of colleagues. Before joining LEAD, I spent much of my career educating and training specialised military personnel in Africa, Central and South America, and Southeast Asia. That experience gave me a deep appreciation for cross-cultural work, and the importance of practical, field-based leadership development—something I now bring into the conservation space.