Doug Cress is the programme coordinator for the Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP), a United Nations initiative that aims to protect apes and their habitat in Africa and Asia. Cress oversees all aspects of GRASP, including partnership relations, fund-raising, project design, implementation and evaluation, communications, and public outreach. Cress also manages the GRASP secretariat, which is based at United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) headquarters in Nairobi and is jointly hosted between UNEP and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Prior to joining GRASP, Cress spent nine years as the executive director of the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA), the network of primate rehabilitation centers across Africa, and served as a vice-president of the Orangutan Conservancy from 2007 to 2011. Cress was the director of the Great Ape Project from 2001-2004. Prior to working in conservation, Cress spent 20 years as an award-winning journalist with The Washington Post, Los Angeles Daily News, and Atlanta Constitution.
