Indianapolis Prize Emerging Conservationist Award Winner to Speak at Ball State, Sept. 30

Topics: Speakers, Student Activities, Muncie

September 12, 2025

Mwezi "Badru" Mugerwa, the winner of the 2025 Indianapolis Prize Emerging Conservationist Award, will be a guest lecturer at Ball State at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 30. The event, free and open to the public, will be located in the Ballroom on the second floor of the L.A. Pittenger Student Center.

Mr. Mugerwa is a Ugandan conservationist and researcher who has dedicated his career to protecting the African golden cat, a little-known wild cat species native to equatorial Africa. He is the founder and director of Embaka, a community-based conservation organization that has registered more than 2,200 members in Uganda. Under his leadership, Embaka has pioneered creative solutions to reduce poaching and human-wildlife conflict, such as providing oral health care and livestock to families in exchange for pledges not to poach.

Mr. Mugerwa also created the African Golden Cat Conservation Alliance, a network of conservationists across 19 African countries, and currently serves as president of the Society for Conservation Biology's Africa Region and president-elect of the Society's Global organization.

The Indianapolis Prize Emerging Conservationist Award, established in 2023, honors conservationists age 40 or younger who have made a significant impact in protecting species. The Indianapolis Prize itself, awarded biennially by the Indianapolis Zoological Society, is considered the world's leading award for animal conservation. Since 2004, the Prize has awarded more than $7 million to conservation scientists whose work has advanced the survival of species worldwide.