Social Impact Heroes: Why & How Dr. Shermin de Silva of ‘Trunks & Leaves’ Decided To Change Our World

At the core of our mission is compassionate conservation that tries to balance the needs of nature and wildlife with that of the communities who share the same landscape. We know that solving the coexistence challenge will not happen quickly, so in the meantime, we have been supporting the communities we work in from a wholly different direction.

As part of my series about “individuals and organizations making an important social impact”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Shermin de Silva.

Shermin de Silva is the President & Founder of Trunks & Leaves, a nonprofit focused on the conservation of Asian elephants and their habitats. She obtained her PhD from the University of Pennsylvania, studying the behavioral ecology and demography of Asian elephants and directs the Udawalawe Elephant Research Project in Sri Lanka, which she initiated in 2005. She is a founder and trustee of EFECT, Sri Lanka, as well as a member of the Asian Elephant Specialist Group of the IUCN Species Survival Commission.