Romulus Whitaker was born in New York City in 1943 and came to live in India with his family in 1951. Rom and colleagues set up the Madras Snake Park in 1969, Madras Crocodile Bank/Centre for Herpetology in 1976, Irula Snake-catchers Cooperative in 1978, Andamans Centre for Island Ecology in 1989, Agumbe Rainforest Research Station in 2005 and Gharial Conservation Alliance in 2007. His awards include Whitley Fund for Nature, Rolex Award for Enterprise, Peter Scott Award, Salim Ali Award, and Government of India’s Padma Shri. He produced and presented two dozen documentary films and has made several hundred scientific and popular publications including the seminal book “Snakes of India-the Field Guide”. In addition, there are two two snake species named in his honor; the Indian boa (Eryx whitakeri) and the Romulus' krait (Bungarus romulusi). Rom is an inspirational figure who has made an invaluable contribution to wildlife research and nature conservation.

Prof. Krystal Tolley has been working in the field of African herpetology for over 20 years, and she heads the Molecular Ecology research group at the South African National Biodiversity Institute in Cape Town. She specialises in phylogenetics and biogeographic studies of African reptiles and amphibians including taxonomy, ecology, ecomorphology and global change/conservation issues. She has authored over 120 peer-reviewed publications on African herps and two books on chameleons and described many species of reptiles and frogs. She has participated in field surveys in South Africa, Namibia, Angola, Mozambique, Malawi and Kenya. Prof. Tolley has an extensive network of collaborators in Africa, Europe and the USA, and she has served on the Editorial Board of Journal of Biogeography since 2015 and as the Chairman of the Herpetological Association of Africa since 2018. She is the Red List Focal Point for the IUCN Chameleon Specialist Group and co-chair of the Regional Reptile Specialist Group and the Regional Snake Specialist Group for southern Africa.

Based in KwaZulu-Natal, Jeanne Tarrant, aka the “Frog Lady”, manages the Endangered Wildlife Trust’s Threatened Amphibian Programme (TAP). Almost all of her work is linked to threatened frog species, which are usually associated with very limited distribution ranges and specific habitat types, most of which are not protected or well-managed. In 2020, Jeanne was the recipient of the prestigious Whitley Award, or “Green Oscar” for her work in conservation.