Sun Bear Expert Team Co-chair

Marsya is a PhD candidate in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Michigan. Before starting her PhD, she worked for 6 years as a wildlife biologist with the Wildlife Conservation Society-Indonesia Program, where she was involved in tropical forest ecological research as well as conservation and capacity-building activities. Her PhD research focuses on the ecology and biogeography of primates, particularly how resource distribution, interspecific competition, and human disturbance shape the co-occurrence of siamangs and gibbons in Sumatra. Although her current work is centered on primates, she has a long-standing interest in tropical forest conservation more broadly and has worked on conservation research on other species including tigers and sun bears. fostering connections among conservationists. Marsya is also a co-founder of Tambora Muda Indonesia, a national network of early-career conservationists dedicated to capacity building in ecological research, conservation career development, and professional networking in Indonesia.