Dr Tali Hoffman

Designation: CARIAA-ASSAR Communications Officer
Expertise: science communication, zoology, spatial ecology

Tali Hoffman was appointed CARIAA-ASSAR Communications Officer in August 2014. Tali is the focal point and coordinator of all internal and external communications activities related to the ASSAR project, and is responsible for all aspects of communication including information management, website management, editorial duties, coordinating and disseminating research knowledge products, maintaining an effective internal data storage and retrieval system and maximising the outreach and uptake of research outputs of the project.

Tali has an immense and unwavering passion for Africa’s people, landscapes and wildlife, and has committed her career to effecting positive change in this continent.

Prior to joining the ACDI, Tali worked as the project manager for MammalMAP – an Africa-wide conservation initiative that encourages and facilitates the involvement of professionals and non-experts alike in the collection of large quantities of mammal distribution data. Through public talks, written documents, social media, radio, and television, Tali cultivated a rich rapport with biologists, citizen scientists, the media and project sponsors and thrived in this collaborative interface.

Prior to MammalMAP Tali trained as a zoologist, and her PhD focused on the management of baboons in the Cape Peninsula in Cape Town, South Africa – a human-wildlife conflict arena fraught with rhetoric, strong and polar opinions and controversial management actions. She learnt to analyse and interpret data in meaningful ways that allowed environmental authorities to make informed decisions and for the media to correctly interpret these decisions. She also enjoyed delivering her findings in public meetings to ameliorate the frustration of many residents, and converting her findings into accessible and appealing formats appropriate for school children in affected areas.

Through these experiences Tali learnt to tailor scientific messages to a variety of lay and professional audiences while maintaining the quality and integrity of these messages. This is exactly what she is aiming to do for the ACDI and ASSAR.