Indianapolis Prize Announces
the World’s Leading Award for Animal Conservation
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Indianapolis Prize officials announced 44 leaders in animal conservation as Nominees for the 2025 Indianapolis Prize, the world’s leading award for animal conservation. In 2025 the Indianapolis Prize celebrates 20 years of showcasing remarkable conservationists and their achievements.
Granted biennially, the Indianapolis Prize focuses attention on the inspiring work of distinguished animal conservationists who have had authentic success preserving animal species around the world. The Winner of the Prize receives an unrestricted $250,000 award and the five DeHaan Finalists each receive $50,000.
“The Nominees for the Indianapolis Prize are true champions for wildlife. I am honored to highlight the important achievements of these remarkable individuals through the Indianapolis Prize.” said Dr. Rob Shumaker, president and CEO of the Indianapolis Zoo.
The Nominating Committee now begins their work to select the six DeHaan Finalists. The Jury will ultimately determine the Winner of the Prize from among the DeHaan Finalists. We will celebrate the DeHaan Finalists and Winner next year at the Indianapolis Prize Gala on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at the JW Marriott in downtown Indianapolis.
The Nominees for the 2025 Indianapolis Prize are:
Raju Acharya Sharma (Friends of Nature, Nepal)
Anastazia T. Banaszak, Ph.D. (Institute of Marine Sciences and Limnology, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico)
Joel Berger, Ph.D. (Wildlife Conservation Society, USA)
Sheila A. Bolin (The Regal Swan® Foundation, Inc., USA)
Christopher Buttermore (The Dallas World Aquarium & Auburn University, USA)
Alberto Alves Campos (Aquasis, Brazil and University of British Columbia, Canada)
Juan Carlos Cantú Guzmán (Teyeliz, A.C., Mexico)
Nataly Castelblanco-Martínez, Ph.D. (El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Mexico)
Topiltzin Contreras-MacBeath, Ph.D. (Autonomous University of the State of Morelos, Mexico)
Lisa Dabek, Ph.D. (Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program, USA)
Sharon L. Deem, DVM, Ph.D. (Saint Louis Zoo Institute for Conservation Medicine, USA)
Purnima Devi Barman, Ph.D. (Aaranyak, WiNN, India)
Sebastián Di Martino (Rewilding Argentina Foundation, Argentina)
Amy Dickman, Ph.D. (Lion Landscapes, Great Britian)
Karen L. Eckert, Ph.D. (Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network, WIDECAST, USA)
Ehab Eid (Eco Values for Sustainable Development, Jordan)
Josephine Ekiru (Northern Rangelands Trust, Kenya)
Biruté Mary Galdikas, Ph.D. (Orangutan Foundation International, USA)
Axel Hochkirch, Ph.D. (National Museum of Natural History, Luxembourg)
Lisa Hywood (Tikki Hywood Foundation, Zimbabwe)
Rodney Jackson, Ph.D. (Snow Leopard Conservancy, USA)
David Johnson (Katie Adamson Conservation Fund, USA
Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, DVM (Conservation Through Public Health, Uganda)
Lucy Keith-Diagne, Ph.D. (African Aquatic Conservation Fund, Senegal)
Laly Lichtenfeld, Ph.D. (African People & Wildlife, Tanzania)
Laurie Marker, Ph.D. (Cheetah Conservation Fund, USA)
Roderic Mast (Oceanic Society, USA)
Gabriela Mastromonaco, Ph.D. (Toronto Zoo, Canada)
Charudutt Mishra, Ph.D. (International Snow Leopard Trust, USA)
Tilo Nadler (Three Monkeys Wildlife Conservancy, Vietnam)
Citrakasih Nente, DVM (Yayasan Ekosistem Lestari, Indonesia)
Petronel Nieuwoudt (Care for Wild, South Africa
Julie Packard (Monterey Bay Aquarium, USA)
Peter Praschag, Ph.D. (Turtle Island, Austria)
Lily-Arison René de Roland, Ph.D. (The Peregrine Fund, Madagascar)
Maureen Reilly (Tech 4 Conservation Inc., Canada)
Colin Simpfendorfer, Ph.D. (University of Tasmania, Australia)
Ian Singleton, Ph.D., OBE (Orangutan Haven & PanEco Foundation, Indonesia)
Tara Stoinski, Ph.D. (Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, USA)
Bibhab Kumar Talukdar, Ph.D. (Aaranyak, India)
Alvaro José Velasco Barbieri (Crocodile Specialist Group, Venezuela)
Lee James Taylor White, Ph.D. (Institute for Tropical Ecology Research, Gabon and University of Stirling, Scotland)
Kerri Wolter (VulPro NPC/PBO, South Africa)
Zhou Jinfeng, Ph.D. (China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation, China)
To learn more about the Nominees and their areas of study, click here.