Judy Lane, Founder and President
Since 2011, when she founded Maasai Partners’ parent organization, Ngorongoro Community Network, Judy has been spreading our outreach and impact.
It was in that year that Judy visited the Ngorongoro Conservation Area on an off-the-beaten-path excursion that exposed her to remote areas of the NCA that are usually missed by tourists. She had the opportunity to connect with a Maasai community member from Alailelai Ward and hear firsthand about the challenges facing Maasai in NCA today.
She recalls: “When I went to stay in the village for the first time, village meetings were being conducted and I listened in. They explained that there was no healthcare, no water in two of the villages, and completely impassable roads; following along in a meeting, one quickly becomes aware of the immense problems that plague this beautiful area.”
The seeds of a community network were planted that trip and soon after, the first Maasai Partners partnership began with the Tanzanian community-based organization Alailelai Maasai Sustainability Organization (AMSO). Learn more details here.
Having walked from village to village on foot as part of her trek, Judy got a glance of the remote reality for Maasai living there. She also saw that there was no NGO presence in this particular ward, and very little in the conservation area in general, and that in order to bring about any significant impact, a network would be an ideal model to serve the community.
“You can’t just isolate one problem and work in that one area when the problems are this complex. You have to treat it as an ecosystem that is stressed. Then try to address the many issues as part of the whole if you want to see any improvement,” she explained.
Since then, Maasai Partners has continued to partner with and support a growing number of local and international organizations. With each new partnership the network potential is amplified, as partners begin to network directly with each other.
Judy uses her environmental background to bring experience and expertise to her position as president. After earning a BS in Environmental Science from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and an MS in Ecology from the University of California at Davis, she worked as an environmental consultant and researcher.
She has traveled extensively in developing countries, always trying to get off tourist routes and into more remote regions—an adventurous tendency that led her to Alailelai.
Further relevant experience stems from her service as treasurer and member of the Franklin County Conservation District Board of Supervisors in Massachusetts.