Dr. Lilly joined the Fossey Fund in 2001, with the initial objectives of initiating human health programs in Rwanda and neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. This "ecosystem health" program expanded to include basic health care projects, clean-water access programs, medical clinic rehabilitation, treatment and prevention of intestinal parasite infections in local communities, and protein access nutritional programs.
All of these programs are geared toward supporting the Fossey Fund's belief that successful conservation can happen only in an environment where local communities have adequate health, educational and economic opportunities. Dr. Lilly was instrumental in crafting this mission.
"Dr. Lilly was one of the most dedicated and tireless conservationists and health advocates I have ever worked with," says Richard A. Horder, chair of the Fossey Fund's board of trustees. "Her efforts on behalf of the Fossey Fund led to improved health and livelihoods for thousands of people in Africa and supported our conservation efforts to save the gorillas, other endangered species and their habitats in the same areas. She will be deeply missed by our organization and all who had the pleasure of knowing her."
"Dr. Lilly was instrumental in expanding the mission of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International and showing us that a healthy environment for all — people and animals — is the key to successful conservation," says Clare Richardson, president and CEO of the Fossey Fund. "She developed groundbreaking programs for local communities that not only helped people but lessened human impact upon the forests where the gorillas and other important animals live. We are committed to continuing and expanding these crucial programs."
In addition to this work, Dr. Lilly also specialized in behavioral primatology, including psychological evaluation and treatment of primates. As such, she was instrumental in evaluating and devising care protocols for the young orphaned gorillas that the Fossey Fund now cares for, in conjunction with the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project. In addition, she led the effort to obtain funding for the new Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education Center, now under construction in Congo. This facility will provide not only housing for young gorillas confiscated from poachers, but a way for them to be eventually reintroduced to the wild. The initial funding for this center is a result of Dr. Lilly's work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with additional support and expertise coming from the alliances she forged with the Congolese wildlife authorities (ICCN), Pan African Sanctuary Alliance, animal experts from Disney, and other partners.
Dr. Lilly earned her doctorate degree in 1995 from Rutgers University in physical anthropology. Her primary research focus was on psycho-neuro-immunological responses to stressors in primates. She developed a center for emotionally and physically challenged monkeys and collaborated with human psychiatrists and neurologists to provide treatment and recovery interventions. She has also been a consultant to zoos, sanctuaries and research laboratories, assisting with rehabilitation of great apes, monkeys, and prosimians facing emotional disturbances. She conducted field work in Congo, Rwanda, Central African Republic, Morocco, Algeria and Cameroon, before coming to the Fossey Fund.
In addition, Dr. Lilly was also an accomplished research scientist, with multiple articles published in scientific journals, and numerous scientific presentations. She was also the recipient of numerous awards and grants from conservation and academic institutions, including the National Geographic Foundation, the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the Disney Foundation.
"Dr. Lilly was instrumental in leading the discipline of primatology toward recognition of the important connection between primate conservation and health of the communities that shared their ecosystem," says Tara Stoinski, Ph.D., Fossey Fund scientist and The Pat and Forest McGrath Chair of Research and Conservation. "The types of programs she started, in addition to improving the health and lives of thousands of Africans, are now becoming an important component of ape research sites throughout the world."
A native of North Carolina, Dr. Lilly attended Columbia College in South Carolina, where she graduated magna cum laude, before embarking on her doctoral work at Rutgers. She had been working in Africa since the mid 1990s. Just prior to coming to the Fossey Fund, she moved to the Mondika Research Center in the Central African Republic to study western lowland gorillas and assist in habituating them to human presence. While doing research on intestinal parasites in gorillas she became interested in the link with local people, leading her to develop a program she entitled "ecosystem health." This program carried on her research about cross transmission of parasites between local people and gorillas, but also provided medical care and treatment for forest peoples. She then brought this expertise to the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund in 2001.
Dr. Lilly's family has requested that memorial gifts be sent in her name to the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, 800 Cherokee Avenue S.E., Atlanta Georgia, 30315.
