Dr Christy Williams

A. Christy Williams, Ph.D. is the Chair of the IUCN SSC Asian Rhino Specialist Group for the 2026–2029 quadrennium. He holds a Ph.D. from the Wildlife Institute of India and has spent over two decades working on the conservation of Asia’s large mammals. As Head of WWF’s Asian Rhino and Elephant Action Strategy (AREAS), he led conservation efforts across range states from India to Indonesia, funding the protection and management of all three species of Asian rhinos, combating illegal wildlife trade in rhino horns, and using field research and satellite telemetry to secure protected habitats. He subsequently served as WWF’s Country Director for Myanmar and Regional Director for Asia-Pacific. He currently leads land conservation at NEOM, where he is setting up a 20,000 sq km nature reserve alongside one of the world’s largest ecosystem restoration programmes. He brings to the AsRSG a career built on bridging field science, government partnerships, and institutional leadership for wildlife conservation.