Founding Directors

Steph Durno Karns is a wildlife biologist and former wildlife officer.  Steph spent nearly 20 years in the Rocky Mountains, managing the “fur & feathers” species, including moose, bighorn sheep, deer, elk, black bear, pronghorn, sage grouse, waterfowl, and mountain lions and enforcing wildlife laws.   She also investigated human-wildlife conflict incidents and worked with local landowners and communities to reduce and mitigate these situations. After leaving the mountains, Steph served as Assistant Chief of Wildlife for a state agency in the southeastern US, and is now the Executive Director for Wildlife Investigators Training Alliance. 

As the Executive Director, Steph manages administrivia, logistics, and course preparation.   She also ensures that our trainings are grounded in wildlife science and relevant to local species and ecosystems.  She is a certified instructor in First Aid, CPR, and AED and a certified Wilderness First Responder, and teaches wildlife management, crime scene investigation, evidence handling, basics of anti-wildlife trafficking, time of death estimation, officer safety, community engagement, and conflict mitigation.  

Shawn Karns has been a Wildlife Criminal Investigator for over 28 years. Shawn graduated with honors, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice. As a Criminal Investigator, his primary responsibility is investigating wildlife crimes in covert and overt capacities.  

Shawn specializes in complex investigations involving commercialization, transportation, and excessive harvest. He has participated in over 1,000 wildlife investigations across the US and has led multiple long-term international investigations into wildlife trafficking.  Shawn also has extensive training and experience in digital evidence seizure and recovery.   

Shawn routinely employs digital forensic tools to expose criminal networks.  He is passionate about teaching wildlife officers investigative techniques and has instructed at the US-national level since 2001. 

He annually provides training to state and federal investigators across the United States and abroad.   His courses include Developing Undercover Identities, Storefront Operations, Informant Handling and Case Management.  Shawn served on the board of the US national wildlife investigators’ academy for 20 years.  

Shawn has extensive experience in personal training, physical fitness, and officer well-being, which he incorporates into courses that highlight Ranger Safety and Wellness.   

As the Director of Training & Investigations, Shawn develops customized curricula for each training, identifies and coordinates with training partners, and ensures that WITA provides the most current law enforcement investigative techniques to all our class participants. 

Alex Chunga currently serves as a the Assistant Director of Parks for the Malawi Department of National Parks.  Alex has risen through the ranks through hard work and dedication to the conservation and management of Malawi’s wildlife heritage.  Alex joined the Department as a Park Ranger in 1993 after completing a two year Wildlife Management Training. In 1996 he was awarded a scholarship for further studies at the College of African Wildlife Management, Mweka in Tanzania.   Prior to his position as Assistant Director of Parks, Alex was the Head of Law Enforcement and has led many successful investigations and prosecutions of transnational wildlife crimes.

Service in the wildlife sector has taken Alex across countries and continents where he has participated in various capacity building sessions to broaden and enrich knowledge.

Alex is an inspiration to the Game Rangers of Malawi DNPW and remains committed to serving to save the country’s precious resources for the benefit of present and future generations.  WITA has relied on Alex's expertise and guidance in conducting many trainings.

Chukukere Unamba-Oparah provides Consulting, Media, Communications, and Business Development services across Africa, with over twenty-five years of experience of working with governments, various governmental agencies, Non-Government Organisations and private sector players. He has long-term country experience in the United Kingdom and in sub-Saharan Africa, providing visioning and strategic direction, stakeholder engagement, corporate communication, and business development, services facilitating access to various sectors as applicable. 

Chuks is the Programme Director and Country Coordinator for Kenya for the Attorney General Alliance-Africa (AGA-Africa) a Director at Syber Intel, and the Founding Director and Chief Executive Officer of Artikulate Company Ltd. based in Nairobi, Kenya. 

Chuks has held several senior management and regional board positions, including Managing Director South and East Africa for a global serviced office group, Head of Management Process (Change Management), Head of Retail networks, Corporate Client Director and e-business Solutions Director for a global distribution group. 

Chuks has been a speaker at a number of African key government / private sector engagement forums including the UCLG Africa (United Cities and Local Government) Conference Abuja, Microsoft African Heads of Government Forum South Africa and various interviews across a number of media platforms. 

More recently Chuks has worked on assignments providing consultancy and program management services to core organizations in Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, and the UK, supporting organizations in key areas including, Corporate Strategy, Strategic Engagement, Media relations, Project Management, Human Resources and Capacity Building, Public Sector Service Improvement, SME development, Tourism, Property, Retail, Agribusiness and ICT/ e-government sectors. 

Chuks holds a BA in Social Science & Economics and an MBA from Middlesex University Business School, United Kingdom.

Demi Herman is a career prosecutor currently handling felony level criminal cases as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Nebraska, United States. Demi has prosecuted a wide range of cases, including theft, assault, and drug cases to child victim crimes, domestic violence and sexual assault. She has a particular interest in protecting the well-being of the vulnerable and victims who must testify in Court. She holds a B.A. in Criminal Justice and Sociology  from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota and a J.D. from William Mitchel College of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota.  

Since becoming a prosecutor in 2001, Demi has worked in Nebraska and Arizona, prosecuting felony cases, and serving as a mentor in for multiple agencies.  Demi served as a Chief Deputy in Platte County, Nebraska from 2008-2013 and as the Chief Deputy in Saunders County, Nebraska, from 2013-2022. In 2022, she joined the Douglas County Attorney’s Office as the CVSA (Child Victim/Sexual Assault) team lead. There she oversees a dedicated team specializing in the prosecution of crimes of sexual violence and serious harm to children.

Demi joined WITA as an instructor in 2018, and joined the Board of Directors in 2022.   Since 2016, Demi has worked with the Attorney General Alliance to build capacity and improve trial skills for her colleagues in Mexico and Africa.  

Demi enjoys volunteering with Victory Riding Academy, a non-profit organization bringing therapeutic equine services to military veterans and first responders and their family members. She is the proud mother to two children.

Farith is a dedicated Accounting Specialist, Tax Expert, and Finance Consultant with a passion for helping businesses thrive. His expertise includes accounting cleanups, bookkeeping, tax filing, and CFO services.

Farith earned his Bachelor's degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Accounting from UT Martin, where he played 4 years of college tennis. He completed a Master’s in Business Administration with a focus on Finance from Middle Tennessee State University, and went on to complete a Master’s in Conflict Management from Lipscomb University.

Farith's mission is straightforward: to help organizations like WITA maximize their productivity and achieve their goals through efficient and professional consulting services. 

Farith's fluency in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, and experience across South America bring a global perspective to our Board. Outside of his professional life, Farith loves playing tennis and golf and has a deep respect for wildlife and reducing animal cruelty worldwide.

Dr. Gohar Petrossian is an Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and the Executive Officer of the Criminal Justice Doctoral Program at CUNY Graduate Center. 

Dr Petrossian’s research focuses on the empirical application of crime science theories to wildlife crimes. She has published over 65 scholarly articles, book chapters, and reports on this topic. She is the author of the book The Last Fish Swimming: The Global Crime of Illegal Fishing, published in 2019. 

In the past two years alone, Dr Petrossian has been invited by renowned institutions and organizations as a keynote and guest speaker to discuss her research. 

Dr Petrossian’s work has been featured by Global Fishing Watch, Yale University’s Environment Review, National Geographic, PBS Nature, The Center for International Maritime Security, U.S. Naval Institute, and CUNY Newswire.

Jim Karani is an attorney at law who advises on environmental and animal law. He works in the courts and with policymakers for communities to ensure wildlife is protected and traffickers of endangered species are brought to justice. 

Before joining WITA, he headed the legal team at WildlifeDirect Kenya, engaging in environmental public interest litigation and following up on major elephant ivory trafficking court cases. He also managed the Eyes in the Courtroom program in partnership with Kenya’s Judiciary to monitor and analyze the effectiveness of law enforcement in handling wildlife crime in courts. Data from this program was used to guide reforms in wildlife law and build the capacity of law enforcement to significantly strengthen Kenya’s response to wildlife crime. He also was directly involved in the training of over 1,000 police officers, investigators, prosecutors, and judicial officers on best practices for handling wildlife crime and the development of legal texts, guides, toolkits, and reference materials for law enforcement in various countries in Africa. 

In addition to his work with WITA, Jim is currently doing a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice at John Jay College in New York. 

Judy Muriithi is a passionate environmental conservation attorney with a proven track record in combating illegal wildlife trafficking. 

Judy brings a unique blend of knowledge in wildlife forensics, data analysis, and risk assessment. This technical skillset, coupled with her deep understanding of CITES regulations, makes her a valuable asset in the global fight against wildlife crime. Her active participation in international forums demonstrates her commitment to sharing insights and fostering collaboration to strengthen regulations and enforcement mechanisms. 

Judy has led capacity building initiatives that review and analyse the investigation techniques by law enforcement to promote sound governance and accountability among law enforcement institutions when it comes to financial investigations in illegal wildlife trade cases.

Judy's passion for wildlife conservation, collaborative spirit and her dedication to innovative solutions, makes her a force for positive change in the fight to protect our precious wildlife. 

Ed Newcomer is a well-respected law enforcement professional and lawyer who served as a Special Agent with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for over 20 years before retiring in 2022. During his career as a Special Agent, Ed worked in Los Angeles and in a variety of international posts while conducting complex investigations involving wildlife trafficking crimes. Between 2015 and 2020, Ed was based at the United States Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa where he served as the Wildlife Law Enforcement Attaché for Southern Africa.  

As the senior diplomatic representative of the US Fish and Wildlife Service in nine African countries, he provided investigative and enforcement assistance to African law enforcement agencies and advice to senior US Government officials at US embassies throughout the world. He was responsible for the conception and implementation of the US Visa Ineligibility for Wildlife and Timber Traffickers, the first and only such visa restriction adopted anywhere in the world. Prior to his Africa assignment, Ed served as the Deputy Resident Agent in Charge for the Southern California RAC District in Los Angeles, California, where he supervised criminal investigations conducted by Service agents in the Los Angeles area.  

During his career, he conducted many high-profile international wildlife trafficking investigations involving every continent, including Antarctica. He is a licensed attorney and, for ten years prior to joining the Service, practiced law as an Assistant Attorney General and Hearing Officer in the states of Washington and Colorado. In addition to his work with WITA, Ed is a member of the faculty at California State University, Dominguez Hills, where he teaches courses in criminal justice and administrative law.  

Jim  Karani is an attorney who advises on criminal, animal, and environmental law. He has a Master in Law and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice at John Jay College, New York. 

Before joining WITA, Jim headed the legal team at WildlifeDirect Kenya where he engaged in environmental public interest litigation and followed up on major elephant ivory trafficking court cases. He also managed the Eyes in the Courtroom program in partnership with Kenya’s Judiciary to monitor and analyze the effectiveness of law enforcement in handling wildlife crime in courts. Data from this program was used to guide reforms in wildlife law and build capacity of law enforcement to significantly strengthen Kenya’s response to wildlife crime.

Jim has been directly involved in the training of over 1,000 police  officers, investigators, prosecutors and judicial officers on best practices of  handling wildlife crime cases and development of legal texts, guides,  toolkits and reference materials for law enforcement in various countries in Africa. 

Walter was born in El Salvador, Central America and moved to California, USA at the age of 13 years old as an immigrant.

Walter is the proud father of four (4) daughters, one (1) son, one (1) grandson, and one (1) granddaughter. 

Walter has over 25 years of combined law enforcement experience, as a police officer handling calls for service, dispatcher, as criminal investigator, handling complex transnational investigation, and instructor. 

Walter began his career as a Police Officer in March 1999, with the United States Postal Inspection Service, and worked in the San Francisco Bay area, California, and Puerto Rico. 

In 2002, Walter lateral transferred as Police Officer with the United States Park Police, in Virginia, Maryland, Washington, DC and later worked as a Law Enforcement Park Ranger, for the United States National Park Service, in Texas. 

In 2006, Walter transferred to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Walter held the positions of Refuge Officer, Federal Wildlife Officer, Manatee Refuge Officer, Conservation Law Enforcement Officer, Special Agent and Senior Special Agent. While employed at the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Walter worked in California, Puerto Rico, Florida and Georgia, Walter worked for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service Division of Refuge of Law Enforcement and the Office of Law Enforcement.

Walter retired in August 2024 as a Senior Special Agent with the Training and Development Unit of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement. Walter has been an instructor/team leader at the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) San Salvador, El Salvador and Bangkok, Thailand. 

Candice Boyers supports the Wildlife Investigators Training Alliance (WITA) as a Strategic Communications & Research Consultant, drawing on more than a decade of experience in communications, research, and project management. She is currently completing a Master of Arts in International Crime and Justice at John Jay College of Criminal Justice (CUNY), with a focus on transnational crime.

As a key contributor to the INTERPOL Wildlife Crime Working Group’s Snare Priority Project, Candice conducts data-driven research, analyzes global trends in the illegal bushmeat trade, and develops strategic communications to amplify the initiative’s reach and effectiveness.

Her background spans both the private and nonprofit sectors, and she is deeply committed to advancing evidence-based solutions to transnational environmental crime. Candice’s dedication to bridging research and practice, combined with her passion for storytelling and advocacy, makes her a valued collaborator in WITA’s global efforts to combat wildlife trafficking and promote conservation.