Mara Elephant Project USA
Mara Elephant Project USA
Mara Elephant Project USA (MEP USA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (Tax ID 45-3996413) located in Carmel, Indiana in the United States. The purpose of the organization is to work to conserve elephants and the landscapes they live in including their biodiversity, ecological function, and peaceful human-wildlife co-existence through support of programs and activities to foster i) applied conservation, ii) research, iii) technological development, iv) education, v) community development, vi) and public awareness within elephant range states and abroad. View the MEP USA donor information including previous Form 990 filings here.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President
Erica is a Director of Global Marketing Functional Strategy & Planning for Salesforce working in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Prior to Salesforce, Erica was the Business Manager at an engineering firm and Financial Analyst at a construction firm which built stadiums and arenas. Erica’s passion for conservation and sustainability began as a child and flowed into her career as she became LEED Certified. She developed and led the LEED program while building arenas, resulting in the first LEED Gold Certified constructed professional basketball arena in North America. This focus on conservation & sustainability enhanced during her first visit to Kenya over a decade ago when introduced to MEP and has continued and grown ever since. Erica studied Finance and International Business at the University of Cincinnati with time at Audencia Business School in Nantes, France. Combining her love for philanthropy and finance, Erica is Treasurer of the J E Fehsenfeld Family Foundation. You can find Erica and her family living in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Director
Kevin Rodrigues is an investment professional with over 20 years of global investment experience spanning Africa, Europe Asia and the Americas with a primary focus on venture capital and private equity. He is an active angel investor and entrepreneur with investments in several consumer and technology start ups in Europe, Africa and the US. Kevin currently serves as the Chief Investment Officer of bp Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of bp. Over his extensive career, Kevin has worked for Credit Suisse First Boston, International Finance Corporation and Lightrock. Kevin is a Kenyan national and holds an MBA from London Business School, UK and a B.A. (Economics) from Northwestern University.
Director
Marc has worked in the greater Maasai Mara for over a decade, starting as manager for Olchoro Oiroua Conservancy and then Mara North Conservancy. Marc assembled the first Rapid Response Unit for MEP in 2011 and in 2013 started working full-time with MEP. Before Marc moved to the Mara, he completed his bachelor’s degree at The Evergreen State College, Washington. During this time Marc started sustainable woodlot cycles and tracked the bongo antelope in Kenya’s Aberdare National Park under the guidance of Richard Leakey. He is also the current Kenya Wildlife Service Honorary Warden for the Maasai Mara.
Director
In her 36-year tenure at CBRE, Lisa Konieczka has provided advice and guidance to the country’s most sophisticated occupiers in their complex occupancy decisions, often leading to transactions with considerations in excess of $350M. Lisa has executed over 37 million square feet of transactions with consideration in excess of $2.9B. She leads multi-disciplinary, diverse teams in her practice and has received numerous industry and CBRE awards, including the McCarthy Award which recognizes Integrity, Loyalty, Knowledge and Leading by Example, CBRE’s highest honor. In addition to her commercial real estate focus, Lisa has extensive DEI and ESG experience. Lisa founded the CBRE Women’s Network in 2000, whose mission is Advancing the Success of Women. She formed the organizational structure, mission and pillars of the Network, served as Chair for 23 years and recently moved into an Emeritus Chair role. She continues to chair the Advocacy Committee and the Emeritus Board. The Network has 7,500 members in the Americas (11,000 globally) and has experienced CAGR of 27% over her 23-year tenure. Lisa holds an MBA, with a finance concentration, from Loyola University of Chicago, a BA in English from Marquette University and completed the Women’s Senior Leadership Program at Northwestern University, Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Center for Executive Women. She is a long tenured member of the Economic Club of Chicago and serves on its membership committee. She has served on several not-for-profit Boards of Directors; currently with Gilda’s Club of Chicago and formerly with Make A Wish Foundation of Illinois.
Treasurer
Mike provides management of taxation and other financial matters for Bindley Capital Partners, a private investment firm based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Prior to joining Bindley, he was director of taxation with Price Waterhouse in the Indianapolis office. He’s a graduate of Indiana University and is a Certified Public Accountant. Mike is a founding board member of the Friends of Indianapolis Animal Care and Control Foundation, Inc. and served as treasurer for over 17 years. He oversaw a major capital campaign to fund the construction of a new, larger and much more efficient animal shelter expected to be completed in 2026.
Director
Ian Giddings brings over 15 years of experience in cross-functional team leadership, business process optimization, change management, and technical product management.
Throughout his career, Ian has specialized in bridging the gap between operational strategy and technical execution. Most recently, he served as a Technical Product Owner and Senior Sales Enablement Manager at Ascend Learning, where he led enterprise platform initiatives, directed cross-functional and global teams, and built comprehensive training and onboarding programs. His earlier experience includes roles as a Geographic Analyst with Nokia, as well as a Volunteer Business Consultant with TechnoServe in Kenya—where he guided resource allocation and risk reduction strategies.
Having spent his formative years growing up in Kenya, Ian went on to earn his Bachelor of Arts in Geography (Magna Cum Laude) from Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. Today, he lives in the Boston area with his wife and daughter.
We are thrilled to have Ian’s unique perspective, strategic vision, and deep experience in driving operational excellence to our herd.
STAFF
Executive Director
Executive DirectorClaire joined Mara Elephant Project USA in 2016 as a communications consultant to tell the MEP story through an expanded social media presence, an updated website and more focused fundraising efforts. Her journey has carried her into the position of executive director. She studied journalism at Purdue University and previously owned her own consulting company that provided marketing and social media management for businesses in Indianapolis, IN. You’ll find her there running the Mara Elephant Project USA office. Email her, claire@maraelephantproject.org
Finance Director
Nancy Miller has thirty years of experience in accounting working in both the for profit and not for profit space. Email her, nancy@maraelephantproject.org
