Our Mission

The Orangutan Conservancy (OC) is dedicated to the protection of orangutans in their natural habitat through wild research, capacity building, education and public awareness programs, and by supporting numerous on-the-ground efforts to save Southeast Asia’s only great ape. 
Strategy
  • Providing funding and logistical support to a variety of orangutan protection programs
  • Providing funding to various wildlife research programs in Indonesia that support and coordinate orangutan conservation
  • Staging the annual OC/OVAG Veterinary Workshop in Indonesia where orangutan wildlife vets share their knowledge
  • Providing emergency funding to help protect critical habitats of the orangutan, including efforts to control forest fires where important populations exist or supporting other emergency activities
  • Improving public awareness of the plight of the orangutan and their habitats on Borneo and Sumatra
Image Courtesy of Orangutan Kutai Project
Image Courtesy of Ian Singleton
Purpose
Today it is estimated that 27,000 species are extinguished every year in the world’s rainforests – or 74 species a day. Orangutans are found only in the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra. The population of wild orangutans has declined by more than half in the last 50 years, and approximately 80% of their natural habitat has been lost in the last half century. Current research suggests that there are perhaps only 50,000 – 65,000 left in the wild. The Orangutan Conservancy works to protect orangutans in their natural environment, and if we can help this great ape to survive for the future, many other native species, including plants and insects, will also be here for generations to come.
Orangutans are endemic to rainforests on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra in the Indonesian Archipelago.
Early Beginnings
Dutch microbiologist Dr. Willi Smits establishes the Wanariset Forestry Research Station near Balikpapan on the eastern side of Borneo, Indonesia. Dr. Willi Smits rescues a sickly orangutan named Uce from a market in Balikpapan and nurses her back to health. This event marks the beginning of the Wanariset Orangutan Reintroduction Center, with the mission to save orangutans and their rainforest habitats.
Late 1990s
Our Start
The Orangutan Conservancy began in the late 1990s as a sister organization for the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOS-USA). However, we quickly realized that we wanted to exapand our scope and not just assist with one orangutan conservation group but with many. Thus we changed our name to the Orangutan Conservancy to reflect our commitment to any group that needs help with orangutan or forest conservation in the Southeast Asian region.
Early 2000s
Organizational Plans
The Orangutan Conservancy broadens its focus beyond rescue projects to encompass various aspects of orangutan and forest conservation.
2007
Our First OVAG Workshop
In 2009 the first Orangutan Veterinary Advisory Group Workshop took place in Central Kalimantan, Borneo. These workshops were at the request of vets working in rehabilitation centers who were struggling due to limited resources and limited wildlife medical education. Founded by our president, Dr. Raffaella Commitante and (at the time, zoo vet) Steve Unwin, they conducted the first workshop with 25 people.
2010
Rescued + Released Adoption Program
The Orangutan Conservancy partners with Sintang Orangutan Center (SOC) to introduce the Rescued and Released Adoption Program. These orangutans have been rescued, rehabilitated, researched, and released by SOC back into the Betung Kerihun National Park in West Kalimantan, Borneo, Indonesia.
2022
1982-1991
The Balikpapan Orangutan Society (BOS), an Indonesian nonprofit, is established to aid in orangutan rescues and conservation efforts.
1999
OC Scholarship Program
As we grew, we wanted to expand our reach not just to organizations but also to the people working with orangutans, and so we a began scholarship program for higher education degrees. One of our recipients completed both his undergrad and graduate degrees with our help! We hope to add more to this list.
2005
New OC President
Dr. Raffaella Commitante becomes the President of The Orangutan Conservancy.
2009
Our Wild Adoption Program
In 2010, our partnership with the Orangutan Kutai Project (OKP), run by OC's very own board member, Anne Russon, began. OKP monitors a field site that runs about 4 km along the south side of the Sangata River, Kutai National Park’s northern boundary, an area that was chosen because censuses showed strong orangutan presence and the need for additional protection there.
2021
O.V.A.G. Workshop Attendee Record
The O.V.A.G. workshop in 2022 had over 50 people on site and over 65 people online.

Our Team

Dr. Raffaella Commitante
President
Dr. Raffaella Commitante
President

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 11th workshop.  The workshops bringing together veterinarians and other experts from abroad and Southeast Asia began in 2009.

Eric DePalma
Coordinator
Eric DePalma
Coordinator

He graduated from California State University, Fullerton with a B.A. in Anthropology. He is an officer of the Association for Primate Evolutionary Studies (A.P.E.S) at CSUF and was fortunate enough to attend the Southern California Primate Research Forum 2019. He recently graduated with an M.A. in Evolutionary Anthropology from California State University, Fullerton.

Frankie Onizuka
Coordinator
Frankie Onizuka
Coordinator

After graduating from California State University, Fullerton with a B.A. in Anthropology in 2019, Frankie continued her education at CSUF, pursuing a Masters degree in Evolutionary Anthropology. She plans to complete her thesis in Summer 2021. Along with evolutionary anthropology, Frankie has a great passion for graphic design, ornithology, and wildlife conservation.

Dr. Meredith Bastian
Board Member
Dr. Meredith Bastian
Board Member

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 Kempe
Treasurer
Juanita Kempe
Treasurer

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.

Dr. Anne Russon
Board Member
Dr. Anne Russon
Board Member

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.

Dr. Robert Shumaker
Board Member
Dr. Robert Shumaker
Board Member

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.