2023

Dr. Christophe Boesch fought to ensure a safe future for chimpanzees. Christophe uncovered the effects of rapid deforestation across Sub-Saharan Africa, promoted new areas for protecting the remaining chimpanzee populations in Guinea, and studied chimpanzees to better understand culture, hunting, tool use, and the species’ similarities to humans. *Honored individuals for the 2020 Indianapolis Prize shifted in reference to 2021 Indianapolis Prize Winner, Finalists and Nominees due to COVID-19 pandemic shifting future awards.

Dr. Karen Eckert specializes in international biodiversity management, conservation and policy with a focus on sea turtles. Dr. Eckert promotes the recovery and sustainable management of sea turtle populations in more than 40 nations and territories. Eckert has helped protect six species of endangered sea turtles and mobilized community and government support in Caribbean nations to fully protect sea turtles. She serves as the executive director of WIDECAST, an organization that facilitates the recovery and sustainable management of sea turtle populations across the globe.

Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas is a scientist, conservationist and educator working closely with orangutans in their natural habitat in Borneo Indonesia. Dr. Galdikas is an orangutan researcher who first documented the long orangutan birth interval and recorded more than 400 types of food consumed by orangutans, providing unprecedented detail about orangutan ecology. Galdikas has contributed to the release of more than 1,000 rehabilitated orangutans into the wild and has rescued and relocated an additional 200 wild orangutans into the wild. She serves as president and is the co-founder of Orangutan Foundation International, an organization dedicated to protecting wild orangutans in Borneo and their rainforest habitat.

Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka is a wildlife veterinarian recognized globally for her work protecting endangered mountain gorillas in East Africa. Dr. Kalema-Zikusoka promotes conservation by cultivating an understanding of how humans and wildlife can coexist in protected areas in Africa. She is the founder of Conservation Through Public Health, an organization promoting biodiversity conservation by enabling people and wildlife to coexist by improving health and livelihoods in and around Africa’s protected areas.