The Phoenix Team

The Phoenix Fund team members from left to right. Alexander (Sasha) Vrisch, Irina Goodrich, Irina Khitrova, Sergei Bereznuk, Irina Burtseva, Irina Belim.

Sergei Bereznuk, Phoenix Fund's director, oversees anti-poaching team deployment, ecological education and outreach programs, fire fighting in leopard habitats, black vulture conservation, and elimination of illegal wildlife trade channels for Phoenix Fund and Wildlife Alliance in Russia. In 2006 Sergei received a prestigious Whitley Award for Nature for outstanding achievements in his nature conservation work.

Sergei also served as Deputy Director of the "Inspection Tiger" anti-poaching brigade which includes several teams. He is responsible for personnel management and coordination of the project's financing and budgeting, as well as fundraising and coordinating with state authorities, NGOs and mass media. Since he joined the Phoenix Fund in 1999, first as Projects Coordinator and shortly afterwards as Director, Sergei has overseen Phoenix Fund's growth into a leading conservation NGO in the region.

The rest of the Phoenix team is a successful blend of talented, committed specialists with life-long experience in law enforcement and/or environmental education and outreach; and younger enthusiasts who promote and advance team projects.

With an eclectic combination of backgrounds in education, law enforcement, linguistics, public relations, ecology, and biology, collectively the Phoenix Fund team brings unique strength and insight to its mission to protect and halt the poaching and illegal trafficking of the endangered wildlife of the Russian Far East.

Staff Listing:

Sergei Bereznuk
Director of Phoenix Fund, Wildlife Alliance's independent Russian partner NGO

Irina Goodrich
Conservation Projects Coordinator

Irina Burtseva
Deputy Director on Public Relations

Irina Khitrova
Accountant

Alexander (Sasha) Vrisch
Educational Projects Coordinator

Irina Belim

Conservation Projects Coordinator

To learn more about Phoenix Fund, visit http://www.phoenix.vl.ru/