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Chief Assam E. Assam, a distinguished and respected Senior Advocate of Nigeria, has been a legal adviser and trustee of CERCOPAN in Nigeria for many years. Executive Director of the successful law firm, Lex-Fori Partners in Calabar, Chief Assam Assam has been practicing law for over 30 years. Chief Assam belongs to Nigerian Bar Association and International Bar Association (oil, energy and environmental sections). With professional interest in Maritime and Constitutional Law he has general interest in international politics and environmental conservation, and is passionate about concerning Nigeria's environment.  He was made Chairman of the Meteorological Board of Nigeria in 2005 and is the Editor-in-Chief & Publisher of the Supreme Court of Nigeria monthly reports (one of Nigeria authoritative Law reports).

'Chief' Bobby Baxter has a 13 year Electrical Engineering back ground, followed by a history of  management positions in different service industries- shopping malls, outdoor markets, restaurants, pubs, coffee bars - Bobby was our 3rd Volunteer Manager at CERCOPAN from July 97 to July 98. Despite plenty of voluntary work experience behind him, he still refers to his time at CERCOPAN as the most "influential and life changing year of my life". Bobby is one of the original board members, joining in 1998. He has since been able to make frequent visits to CERCOPAN, often bringing with him his friends or family. Bobby was made an officially Certified Chief with our host community in Jan 2007, which he found " both humbling and an honour".

Tunde Morakinyo (MSc Environmental Forestry) worked  alongside Zena in 1991 as a community forester in the Cross River National Park villages. Tunde has worked on conservation  and community forestry programmes all over Africa since then. Tunde joined Environmental Resources Management (ERM) in London in 2002, developing environmental and  social programmes for the private sector (mostly oil/gas companies).  He also develops international donor funded community development  programmes focusing on capacity building of village level  institutions. Tunde plays a major role in fund raising for CERCOPAN  drawing on his extensive range of contacts in the private, public and  NGO sector.

Len Phelps worked in the construction, media and maintenance industries. He was originally trained in electrical installation engineering, and went on to retrain in human resource management and training. He is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, and has extensive experience of and qualifications in Health and Safety Management. Now retired, Len joined CERCOPAN as a trustee in 2007 when he visited CERCOPAN for the first time, and was very impressed with the achievements of CERCOPAN so far and 'simply knocked out' by the warmth, hospitality and optimism of the Nigerian people.

Chris Ransom also started as a volunteer for CERCOPAN in 2000. Prior to CERCOPAN, Chris volunteered for the Orang utan Foundation in Indonesia. Following his volunteer contract with CERCOPAN, he joined the Wildlife Conservation Society for further field work in Cross River State, conducting wildlife surveys and supervising field teams. Chris is now based in London, working for the Zoological Society of London. Chris joined the Board of Trustees of CERCOPAN UK in September 2007.

Zena Tooze arrived in Nigeria in 1991 and founded CERCOPAN in 1995. With an BSc (Hon) in Zoology, an MSc in Biology and Animal Behaviour and veterinary nursing all listed amongst her qualifications, Zena has been passionate about wildlife and animals all her life.  Discovered the joy of travelling  first in Asia and then in Africa after returning to university as a 'mature student'. Like many people, Africa beckoned again, which brought her to Nigeria as a CUSO volunteer. Very soon after arriving in Nigeria, the plight of primates grabbed her interest, and the more she got to know about them the more committed she became. After studying many different types of wildlife, from hummingbirds to red squirrels and wolves, primates are the ones which really won her over! That and Nigeria - its people, its rainforests. Zena is now based in Norfolk, UK.