Ahamad Adnaf: Social Work for Marine Conservation in Sri Lanka

Ahamad Adnaf: Social Work for Marine Conservation in Sri Lanka

Ahmad Adnan is a final-year social work student and Founder of MarSow (Marine Social Work), a founder-led grassroots initiative established in 2025 to connect professional social work with marine conservation in Sri Lanka. In this episode of Resilience Tracks, he discusses his inspiration for studying social work and his final-year research project, Ocean Renewal, focused on reutilizing fish waste into useful products as a circular economy solution. The conversation explores his work with fishing communities, including efforts to develop modern fishing nets to reduce harm to mangrove ecosystems, and broader concerns about destructive fishing practices and their impacts on coastal environments.Connect with AhamadLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ahamed-adhnaf/Host: Noveera QambarEditor: Stephanie FroebelSocial Media: Brooke HartFollow the podcast: https://www.instagram.com/resiliencetracks/

Naomi Sanga: From Business School to Tree Planting

Naomi Sanga studied business, with no idea that climate and conservation would be in her future. When she came across the NGS/TNC Externship program, she took her chances and since then has committed to using her background in business for environmental progress. She works with kids at government schools on tree planting, encouraging kids to develop responsibility and ownership over their natural environments. She also runs clubs, teaching students GIS and storymaps. Connect with Naomi:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/n-s-42875a174/Host: Syeda Noveera Qambar Social Media: Brooke HartFollow the podcast:   / resiliencetracks   [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbG15emlsTHB0eXRtV2RtaVlwcF9YWGlDMDk2d3xBQ3Jtc0trOERRVzFSakxKY21lRFJYTkNacHgxVm9fT2JEbTVDek9jTmM1U3JSRVRFT29wVW10YlF4cTBKbHNtZDFLcS1fYVlrMkc5UVdRbnQ0UUR0LXJscVdhLS1JZnJETk1hYkRBTGEyX1EwSXZTTUE3RnE3RQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fresiliencetracks%2F&v=8b_T1uw1OgA]

Francesco Saretto: Documenting the Injustice of Colonial Land Distribution in Brazil

Francesco Saretto, by day, is a PhD student studying climate risk management with a focus on coastal Bangladesh, but will the help of seed funding after the NGS/TNC externship, he created the documentary Raízes Sem Terra, focused on colonial-based land distribution inequalities in Brazil. Throughout our conversation, we discuss the process of making the film, his learnings from the Sem Terra community in Brazil, and why he is pursuing his PhD given his interest in climate justice. Connect with Francesco: Film's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/raizes_documentario/Newsletter: https://raizesdocumentario.substack.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/francescosaretto/Host: Stephanie FroebelEditor: Megan AliSocial Media: Brooke HartFollow the podcast: https://www.instagram.com/resiliencetracks/https://open.spotify.com/show/7DXTDQNQmvVVt1nJ49mZkk?si=1595566d48e64917

Siena Inaba: From buying submersibles to shipping jellyfish anti-venom with Pristine Seas

Siena Inaba is the Program Operations Specialist for National Geographic Society’s Pristine Seas, whose work ranges from outfitting a deep-sea submersible to coordinating logistics like getting boxed jellyfish anti-venom to an expedition ship. Sienna shares how early inspiration from iconic wildlife storytellers led her to conservation, how she pivoted from a pre-vet track to earth system sciences, and how graduating in 2021 during the pandemic pushed her into healthcare before she found her way back through the National Geographic–Nature Conservancy externship. She discusses her capstone on California’s oil spill response and estuary protection, the transferable soft skills and stress tolerance she gained in healthcare, and Pristine Seas’ mission to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030 through science, policy, media, and education. Sienna also reflects on identity as a mixed Japanese and White American, the importance of diversity in science, critiques the term “ecosystem services,” and emphasizes that anyone can contribute to conservation. Connect with Siena: Instagram: https://www.instagram.coSiena Inaba: Shipping jellyfish antivenom to buying submersibles with Pristine Seas m/sienainaba/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sienainaba/Host: Stephanie FroebelEditor: Stephanie FroebelSocial Media: Brooke Hart Photo Credit: National Geographic Pristine Seas / Caitlin BaileyFollow the podcast: https://www.instagram.com/resiliencetracks/https://open.spotify.com/show/7DXTDQNQmvVVt1nJ49mZkk?si=1595566d48e64917

Noveera Qambar: Researching Glacial Retreat to Human-Carnivore Conflict

Noveera is a master’s student in environmental science in Pakistan who has worked on human-carnivore conflict, glacial modelling, geological identifications, and more. Having worked in both NGOs and governmental agencies, she shares with us the benefits and struggles of each strategy in approaching conservation in her country. We also discuss the hardships of conservation in Pakistan, such as trophy hunting and climate migration from floods. Connect with Noveera:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noveera_qambar/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/syeda-noveera-217a75295/Host: Stephanie FroebelEditor: Stephanie FroebelSocial Media: Brooke HartFollow the podcast: https://www.instagram.com/resiliencetracks/