Dr. Sylvain Nyandwi is the Co-founder and Vice-President of Forest of FHA.

Dr. Nyandwi has had a longstanding interest in primate behavior and wildlife conservation. As an undergraduate student at the University of Rwanda, he majored in Biology before working for 4 years as a chimpanzee field researcher at Gishwati forest, Part of Gishwati-Mukura National Park. During that period, Dr. Nyandwi gained valuable experience in field methods and his commitment to nonhuman primate research and wildlife conservation grew, leading him to enter an MA program in psychology at West Chester University (PA). In 2017, he joined the PhD program in Biological Anthropology at George Washington University. For his Doctoral Dissertation research, Dr. Nyandwi assessed how fragmentation affects female chimpanzee behavior and reproduction, which is critical to conservation and population viability. He compared dispersal, sociality and reproductive success in two fragments in Rwanda, which differ in proximity to a reservoir (Nyungwe National Park) and food availability. After earning a PhD in Biological Anthropology in 2023, Dr. Nyandwi joined Tulane University where he is contributing to research and management of non-human primates.

Dr. Nyandwi looks forward to continuing using knowledge gained through his education and research to contribute to animal wellbeing and wildlife conservation.