Dr Mimi Kessler is a PhD Biologist who has focused her career on the ecology and conservation of bustard species. She serves as Co-chair of the IUCN SSC Bustard Specialist Group.

Through her leadership of the Eurasian Bustard Alliance, she has spearheaded long-term international research and policy efforts focused on endangered Great Bustard populations across North Eurasia, particularly Mongolia and Kazakhstan. This work includes the first telemetry to chart the migration routes of the Eastern subspecies of Great Bustard, and population genetic research which quantified the degree of separation between the two subspecies. Over the past twelve years, she has worked closely with the Government of Mongolia and the Wildlife Science and Conservation Center of Mongolia to successfully advance multiple proposals on the conservation of bustards through the Convention on Migratory Species, including the global uplisting of the Great Bustard, and the drafting and adoption of an Action Plan for Asian populations of the species.

Dr Kessler is frequently consulted by NGOs, investment banks, and development projects concerning the impact of renewable energy infrastructure on endangered bustard populations across Central, South and Southeastern Asia. 

She currently lives in Riyadh, where she works as Director of Science for an initiative aimed at the sustainable rewilding of resident Houbara populations across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 

Dr Kessler speaks fluent Russian, advanced Mongolian, and also has experience with Uzbek, Kazakh, and Spanish languages. She is now studying Arabic. Predictably, she enjoys birdwatching and spending time in nature. In coming years, she hopes to travel to Africa to observe the incredible diversity of bustards on that continent.