Sheherazade, also known as Shera, is the co-founder and program manager of PROGRES, or the Sulawesi Regional Ecological Conservation Initiative. Alongside Mrs. Asnim Alyoihana and Mr. Titayanto Pieter, Shera founded PROGRES to initiate and support local youth movements for the conservation of endangered wild animals in Sulawesi. In 2018, the organization began a program to protect large bats in Longkoga Village, Central Sulawesi. At the end of 2019, PROGRES started its program to protect endangered turtles in the Palu Valley.

Growing up in Central Sulawesi, Shera often spent her vacation in Lore Lindu National Park. There she fell in love with the tropical rainforests and their unique wild animals. It is this love that drove her to dedicate herself to the field of biodiversity conservation by going on to study Biology at the University of Indonesia. Then, after working two years at the Tompotika Conservation Alliance, Shera was accepted into the CIFOR-USAID Master Fellowship Program and continued her Masters in the Department of Ecology and Wildlife Conservation at the University of Florida. Her research has been published by international journals and conferences, and one of her projects was reported on by the New York Times. Since February 2019, Shera has worked at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Indonesia Program as a Conservation Science Specialist.

Shera is also the founder and chairman of Tambora Muda (tamboramuda.org), a national network of young Indonesian conservationists. Founded in December 2015, Tambora Muda aims to create a generation of young Indonesian conservationists who have the knowledge and skills to contribute to biodiversity conservation. For five years, Tambora Muda has been the initiator and voice of young people’s role in sustaining conservation efforts. In addition, Shera is a member of both the Southeast Asian Bat Conservation Research Unit and the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee at the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation. For her dedication in the world of conservation, Shera received the Tony Whitten Conservation Prize in 2019 and became one of the Guardians of the Earth by Tempo Magazine in April 2020.

Now, Shera hopes to increase capacity for an ecotourism program to protect the bats and mangrove forests in Longkoga Village, and launch other conservation projects throughout Sulawesi. She plans to do this by identifying sustainable funding streams for her initiatives as well as promoting her work to reach wider audiences. A community-based approach is central to her outlook; Shera focuses on empowering and building local capacity by integrating each conservation initiative with the vision of the village in which it takes place.

Melindungi keanekaragaman hayati Sulawesi melalui penelitian dan pelibatan pemuda.

Sheherazade atau diakrab dipanggil Shera adalah pendiri dan manajer program dari PROGRES, atau Prakarsa Konservasi Ekologi Regional Sulawesi. Organisasi ini didirikannya bersama Ibu Asnim Alyoihana dan Bapak Titayanto Pieter dengan visi memprakarsai dan mendukung gerakan pemuda-pemudi lokal dalam konservasi satwa liar terancam punah yang masih terabaikan di Sulawesi. PROGRES mengedepankan pendekatan berbasis masyarakat, sehingga program konservasi yang dijalankan fokus pada pemberdayaan (empowerment) dan peningkatan kapasitas lokal agar dapat memimpin dan menjalankan program konservasi secara mandiri. Program konservasi yang selaras dan terintegrasi dengan visi pembangunan desa menjadi kebanggaan masyarakat. Sejak tahun 2018, PROGRES memprakarsai program perlindungan kelelawar besar (kalong) di Desa Longkoga, Sulawesi Tengah (poniki.id), kemudian di akhir tahun 2019, memulai programnya untuk baning Sulawesi (kura-kura terancam punah) di Lembah Palu, dan harapannya dapat memprakarsai inisiatif-inisiatif konservasi lainnya di penjuru Sulawesi.

Besar di Sulawesi Tengah, Shera sering menghabiskan masa liburannya di Taman Nasional Lore Lindu. Hutan hujan tropis dan satwa liarnya yang unik membuat Shera jatuh cinta terhadap alam sejak kecil. Kecintaan tersebut yang mendorongnya untuk mendedikasikan diri di bidang konservasi biodiversitas. Ia menempuh pendidikan S1 di Biologi, Universitas Indonesia. Setelah bekerja dua tahun di Aliansi Konservasi Tompotika, Shera diterima di CIFOR-USAID Master Fellowship Program dan melanjutkan S2 di Departemen Ekologi dan Konservasi Satwa Liar, University of Florida, USA. Beberapa penelitian yang dilakukannya sudah dipublikasi di jurnal dan konferensi internasional, dan salah satunya diberitakan oleh New York Times. Sejak Februari 2019 hingga sekarang Shera bekerja di Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Indonesia Program sebagai Conservation Science Specialist.

Shera juga merupakan pendiri dan ketua dari Tambora Muda (tamboramuda.org), jaringan nasional konservasionis muda Indonesia. Didirikan pada Desember 2015, Tambora Muda bertujuan menciptakan generasi konservasionis muda Indonesia yang mumpuni dengan pengetahuan dan keterampilan untuk berkontribusi dalam konservasi biodiversitas. Sudah lima tahun, Tambora Muda menjadi penggagas dan penyuara pentingnya peran anak muda dalam keberlanjutan upaya konservasi. Selain itu, Shera merupakan anggota dari Southeast Asian Bat Conservation Research Unit, dan Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee di Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation. Atas dedikasinya di dunia konservasi, Shera menerima penghargaan Highly commended – Tony Whitten Conservation Prize 2019 dan menjadi salah satu Perempuan Penjaga Bumi versi Majalah Tempo pada April 2020.