Each year, Palm Springs Life and SBEMP Attorneys recognize women whose leadership, accomplishments, and passions are shaping the future of the Coachella Valley.
We’re proud to announce that this year’s honorees include our very own Gana Wingard, Curator of Conversation for Mongolia, who is being recognized as the 2025 Nonprofit Leader. Her expertise and leadership have connected two deserts, two continents, and two cultures — all for one cause, conservation.
Meet Gana
Excerpt from Palm Springs Life, “Meet the 2025 Women Who Lead Honorees” by Lisa Marie Hart.
Raised in Mongolia, where living off the land is still a way of life for much of the population, Gana Wingard grew up with a deep appreciation for the connection between people, animals, and wild places. This early grounding shaped her lifelong devotion to conservation, a journey that has since bridged continents and cultures.
In 2023, Wingard helped launch a partnership between the Mongolian Conservation Initiative — a nonprofit she founded — and The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens, where she now serves as curator of conservation for Mongolia. The focus: global conservation efforts that protect fragile ecosystems and support the communities that rely on them. The Living Desert, renowned for its leadership in arid land conservation, has extended its expertise to the Gobi Desert, where Wingard has spent more than two decades working with nomadic herders and safeguarding biodiversity at the Ikh Nart Nature Reserve.
A key part of Wingard’s leadership is international knowledge exchange. For the past 20 years, she has organized professional exchanges between Mongolia and the United States, emphasizing conservation biology, veterinary care, and the stewardship of protected areas. She has mentored over 100 researchers and students, cultivating the next generation of conservationists.
At Ikh Nart, Wingard has helped transform the area into a model of reserve management recognized by the United Nations. Her long-term research has impacted more than 40 species of mammals, 200 species of birds, and several reptiles.
Through her role at The Living Desert, she continues to connect researchers across continents, sharing data, strategies, and insights to improve conservation for both wildlife and people.
“From managing small projects to overseeing teams, I have learned the importance of being adaptable,” she says. “Conservation takes time, and it requires patience, dedication, and goodwill.”
Wingard has long felt called to lead, in the tradition of Mongolia’s resilient and resourceful women. Her mother, who succeeded as an accountant during Mongolia’s socialist era, instilled in her the value of education. “She used to say, ‘Knowledge is the greatest power; no one can take it from you.’ ”
With one foot in Ikh Nart and the other in Palm Desert, Wingard leads efforts that connect two deserts, two continents, and two cultures. In doing so, she carries forward her mother’s motto, that “the sky’s the limit,” not just for her, but for the future of conservation.
To read the full article and learn more about the other nominees, visit The Palm Springs Life website.
