Hangout at the US Ivory Crush in NYC Times Square

#IvoryCrushHoA  
The global ivory trade is currently responsible for the brutal slaughter of as many as *35,000 elephants a year* in Africa-- that's one elephant every 15 minutes or 96 elephants a day. As this crisis continues, nonprofit and governmental organizations are working together to stop the killing, stop the trafficking, and stop the demand. 
On Friday, the US will crush over 1 ton of ivory in NYC's Times Square, signifying that ivory poaching and illegal wildlife trafficking will not be tolerated. Join WCS and our partners: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NY Department of Environmental Conservation, African Wildlife Foundation, Humane Society, IFAW, NRDC, and WWF, for a Google+ Hangout on Air including a virtual tour of the crush hosted by WCS's Erin Prada, as well as speeches, views of the massive crusher, celebrity cameos, and an exclusive Q&A session with experts working to save elephants. Ask your questions via the Q&A app or by using the hashtag #IvoryCrushHoA . Hope you can tune in!
*Meet the experts -*
*Beth Allgood, IFAW:* Beth is the US Campaigns Director based in the Washington, DC office of IFAW. With a special emphasis on the US role in international wildlife trade and wildlife security issues, Beth oversees all US campaigns. She is the co-author of IFAW’s Criminal Nature report, an in-depth look at the global security implications of the illegal wildlife trade, as well as the co-author of a legal paper analyzing US ivory seizure data, current laws and policy solutions.
*John Calvelli, WCS:* John is the Executive Vice President of Public Affairs for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), a global conservation organization headquartered at the Bronx Zoo dedicated to saving wildlife and wild places. John oversees the work of WCS in Government and Community Affairs, Public Policy, Communications and Digital Programs. He also serves as Director of the 96 Elephants campaign and is on WCS’s Executive Management team that manages the overall organization where he is leading efforts to identify ways for the public to support meaningful conservation action.
*James Deutsch, WCS:* James is a conservationist and Africanist who ran WCS’s field programs in Africa between 2002-2014 and now oversees WCS conservation strategy.  Over the past few years he has deeply involved in framing WCS’s response to the poaching and trafficking crisis facing Africa’s elephants, including launching new elephant protection projects in Ituri (DRC), Ruaha (Tanzania), and Niassa (Mozambique).  He has a PhD from Cambridge, has studied kob antelope and cichlid fishes, and is also involved in HIV/AIDS.
*Iris Ho, HSI:* Born and raised in Taipei, Taiwan, Iris is the Wildlife Program Manager at Humane Society International (HSI), global affiliate of The Humane Society of the US. She develops and leads initiatives that strengthen international protection for imperiled wild animals and manages campaigns to curb wildlife trafficking through policy advocacy and public education. Iris travels regularly to Africa and Asia and collaborates closely with HSI’s local partners, international organizations and national governments, while also coordinating US state and federal legislative efforts in cracking down on the trades in shark fins, elephant ivory and rhino horns.
*Jimmiel Mandima, AWF:* Jimmiel Mandima is a Program Director at the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF). He grew up in Masvingo Province in Zimbabwe and served for many years as AWF’s Zambezi Landscape Director. Today he applies that field experience to represent AWF in policy discussions with the U.S. Government and other public sector partners. 
*Joe Walston, WCS:* Joe is Vice President for Field Conservation, and directly manages the implementation arm of GCP, overseeing Asia, Africa, Latin America and Caribbean, North America as well as the Marine Program and the Wildlife Health and Health Policy Programs. Previously, he was the Executive Director for the Asia Program after spending nearly 20 years in the field in Africa and Asia, including being Country Director for both the Cambodia and Gabon Programs. Joe has been recognized by Prime Minister Hun Sen with the awarding of its highest civilian honor as well as having a new species of bat named after him, Murina walstoni. 
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