Andrew Walde

Andrew Walde was an active Board Member of the TSA until 2017 when he resigned his Director’s position to become the TSA’s Chief Operating Officer.  Andrew now coordinates most of the TSA’s day-to-day business, as well as leads the field programs in India, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, and North America.  He was formerly a Research Biologist with Walde Research & Environmental Consulting based in Atascadero, California.  He obtained a B.Sc. from the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario and a M.Sc. from McGill University (1998) in Montréal, Québec, Canada. Andrew joined Turtle Survival Alliance as the Director of Field Conservation in 2009.

He is on the Executive Committee of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group, as well as the Turtle Conservation Fund. He also serves as the Co-Chair for the Annual Symposium on Conservation and Biology of Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles.  He is an Editor on the updated Turtles in Trouble, The World’s 25+ Most Endangered Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles , and serves as an Editor for Herpetological Conservation and Biology.  

While passionate about chelonian ecology and conservation, he is interested in all aspects of natural history, having worked throughout North America on projects involving restoration ecology, avian research and impact studies; as well as numerous surveys in entomology, ornithology, and herpetology.