Michelle Danks - Founder & Executive Director

Michelle Danks is the founder and passionate advocate behind Emergency Wildlife Rescue (EWR). With a lifelong respect for nature and wildlife and a deep love for Africa’s rich biodiversity, she established EWR to address the urgent need for protecting and rehabilitating Africa’s precious wildlife.

Growing up, she was always fascinated by the incredible diversity of wildlife on our planet. A nature lover at heart, over the years she has worked and volunteered for numerous wildlife conservation organizations and animal rescue groups. 

In 2017, she served as the International Communications Manager for Lilongwe Wildlife Trust in Malawi where she got to live out her lifelong dream of working in wildlife conservation overseas. To say that experience was life changing would be an understatement! That experience fueled her passion and commitment to make a tangible difference in wildlife conservation.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and is currently pursuing her Master’s in Wildlife Conservation from Unity Environmental University. 

In addition to running EWR and holding down a full-time corporate job, Michelle spends her free time with friends, family and her rescue dog, Jackson.