Background

Amy Vedder was born on March 24, 1951, in Palatine Bridge, New York, United States.

Education

Vedder was educated at Canajoharie High School. She graduated from Swarthmore College in 1973. She earned her Master of Science in 1982 and Doctor of Philosophy in 1989 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Career

Vedder began her work in Africa as a member of the Peace Corps from 1973-1975, and following her graduate studies, began fieldwork for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

When Amy Vedder and Bill Weber arrived in Rwanda, East Africa to study mountain gorillas with Dian Fossey, the gorilla population was teetering toward extinction. Poaching was rampant, but it was the loss of habitat that most endangered the gorillas. Weber and Vedder realized that the gorillas were doomed unless something was done to save their forest home. Over Fossey's objections, they helped found the Mountain Gorilla Project in 1979, which would inform Rwandans about the gorillas and the importance of conservation, while at the same time establishing an ecotourism project - one of the first anywhere in a rainforest - to bring desperately needed revenue to Rwanda.

From 1990-1993, Vedder served as WCS's Biodiversity Program coordinator. In 1993, she was appointed director for WCS's Africa Program, overseeing all field projects, program designs, implementation of projects, synthesis, and assessment. The Africa Program is a major facet of WCS's International Conservation Program, which comprises more than 300 field projects in 52 countries.

She is the director and vice president of Wildlife Conservation Society's Living Landscapes Program, a new initiative geared towards balancing the needs of wildlife and people. As a director, she is overseeing the implementation of a science-based approach to conserving wildlife and wildlands outside of protected areas.

Achievements

• Amy Vedder is perhaps best known for the Mountain Gorilla Project, an innovative approach undertaken with her husband, Bill Weber, to conserving habitat in war-torn Rwanda for one of the world’s last remaining gorilla populations. She has over 30 years of experience in conservation efforts across the globe, has overseen more than 100 different conservation projects in locations ranging from New York State and Wyoming to Mongolia and East Africa. Vedder has dedicated her career to balancing wildlife conservation issues with human needs.

Works

More photos

• book

  • In the Kingdom of Gorillas: The Quest to Save Rwanda's Mountain Gorillas

    (When Bill Weber and Amy Vedder arrived in Rwanda to study...)

    2001

Views

Vedder looks at the big picture, promoting both the protection of the wildest places and the careful management of ecological buffers - such as grazing areas of the African savanna that are crucial to the survival of wildlife but can benefit local people at the same time. In many projects, she has discovered that, like us, indigenous people do not always know and appreciate the natural resources in their community. Economic improvement is critical for people who have a hard time feeding their family; nevertheless, Vedder says, "We should not cut short our expectations that people will recognize other benefits of protecting species - benefits that enhance spiritual, aesthetic, or ethical aspects of our lives."

Interests

• hiking, photography

• Sport & Clubs

  soccer, lacrosse

Connections

Amy married William Weber in 1972. They have two children, Noah and Ethan.

husband:

William Weber

Son:

Noah Weber‬

Son:

Ethan Weber

colleague:

Dian Fossey

References

• Gorilla Mountain: The Story of Wildlife Biologist Amy Vedder
  2005