Our Mission

Dr. Raffaella Commitante is OC’s President. She joined Orangutan Conservancy in 2007. Previously she had been living in Borneo working with the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation at their facility in East Kalimantan (Samboja Lestari).  She received her Master’s Degree from California State University, Fullerton where she now teaches in the Division of Anthropology/Evolutionary Anthropology.  She also occasionally teaches at Fullerton College.  She received her PhD in Biological Anthropology from The University of Cambridge, in the United Kingdom.  Raffaella, along with Steve Unwin of Chester Zoo, England is lead facilitator and creator of the Orangutan Conservancy/Orangutan Veterinary Advisory Group (OC/OVAG).  Since returning from the field, Raffaella has been traveling back to Indonesia or Malaysia every year to run the OC/OVAG workshops.  In 2019, she will be running the 11^th workshop.  The workshops bringing together veterinarians and other experts from abroad and Southeast Asia began in 2009.

Dr. Bastian began her work with orangutans in 2003 as a PI and Field Site Director & Researcher at Duke University. During this time, she conducted extensive fieldwork at two wild orangutan research sites within Central Kalimantan, Borneo, Indonesia. The research focused on the geographically variable innovative behavior and feeding ecology in the wild populations of Pongo pygmaeus. She also set up, directed, and managed the Sungai Lading Orangutan Project for 2.5 years. Bastian received her Ph.D. in Biological Anthropology and Anatomy with a minor in Biology from Duke University where she completed her dissertation on the “Effect of riverine dispersal barrier on cultural similarity in wild Bornean Orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus wormbii).” Dr. Bastian has been the Curator of Primates at Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute since 2014 and is now transitioning to a new position, as Recruiting Editor at the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). At the Smithsonian National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute, she acted as the direct supervisor of the Primate Unit, along with heading the research within the unit. She was in charge of overseeing the collection of apes, Old World Monkeys and lemurs and also held responsibility for the Great Ape House, Think Tank, Gibbon Ridge, Lemur Island, and the O-line which is an arboreal cable system that allows orangutans to travel between the Great Ape House and Think Tank.  Learn More>>

Juanita is a very active board member of the Orangutan Conservancy.  Upon graduation from UCLA Juanita went into the garment business where she spent 25 years as a designer, patternmaker and dress manufacturer. In 1987 she became a docent at the Los Angeles Zoo where she currently gives tours, not only to elementary school children, but also to college anthropology students.  She lectures on primates and does behavioral research at the zoo.  In 1992 she took her first trip to see orangutans in the wild and has been working on their behalf ever since.  She is currently the co-treasurer of the Orangutan Conservancy and does community outreach for the organization.

Anne is a Professor of Psychology at Glendon College, York University, Toronto.  Since 1989, she has conducted scientific research on orangutan intelligence and behavior in the forests of Indonesian Borneo.  She has served as a scientific advisor for several orangutan documentaries and orangutan support organizations (e.g., Alchemy Films, New Zealand Natural History Unit; Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation–Indonesia, Orangutan Conservancy-USA) and is the Executive Director of the Borneo Orangutan Society of Canada. Since 2009, she has been studying the behaviour of wild orangutans in Kutai National Park, E Kalimantan.

Robert is an evolutionary biologist who specializes in the study of behavior and cognition. He has worked in the AZA (Association of Zoos and Aquariums) community for nearly 30 years.  Born and raised in the Washington D. C. metropolitan area, he started his career at the Smithsonian National Zoo as a volunteer animal keeper.  During his 20 year tenure there, Dr. Shumaker worked as an animal keeper, curator, biologist, exhibit designer, and scientist.  He spent several years at the Great Ape Trust in Des Moines, Iowa as the senior scientist supervising all research with orangutans.  In 2010 he moved to the Indianapolis Zoo and currently serves as the President and CEO. Dr. Shumaker has been a faculty member at George Mason University and Drake University, and an affiliate faculty member at Iowa State University. Currently, he is an external research associate at the Krasnow Institute, and an adjunct professor at Indiana University.  Dr. Shumaker has authored or co-authored numerous scientific publications, books, and articles for the popular press.  His work has been featured in such media outlets as National Geographic, NPR, the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, PBS, and the BBC. Dr. Shumaker has authored or co-authored numerous scientific publications, books, and articles for the popular press.  Dr. Shumaker serves on the science advisory board of the Balikpapan Orangutan Society (BOS) which is based in Indonesia, in the same capacity for BOS Canada in Toronto, and as a board member of the Orangutan Conservancy, based in the United States. He is internationally recognized as an expert on orangutan behavior and cognition.