Our mission: Protect lemurs. Empower women. Further science. 

Our vision: Ensuring lemurs thrive in their forest homes through the power of women,
​science, and our extended global ‘troop’.

Our Team 

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Dr. Marni LaFleur (Founder and Director) 

Dr. Marni LaFleur is the founder and director of Lemur Love. She started Lemur Love as a mechanism to protect lemurs in southwestern Madagascar, after witnessing deforestation and poaching of wild ring-tailed lemurs. Marni now recognizes that conservation is much more about humans than animals, and that the historical, political, and social influences within Madagascar are important considerations to conservation agendas.
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Dr. Marni is also an Associate Professor at the University of San Diego, in San Diego California, where she teaches Biological Anthropology. She is also a member of the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group and the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group Section for Human-Primate Interactions. She is passionate about rights of both animals and humans, fairness, and equity, and aims to instill these values in her students.​

DR. HOBY ​AMBININTSOA RASOANAIVO (Operations Manager)

Hoby Ambinintsoa Rasoanaivo is a Malagasy veterinarian with a strong passion for
wildlife and conservation. She earned her veterinary degree from the University of
Antananarivo in 2019 and completed a Master’s in Animal Behavior and
Conservation in the UK in 2024. 

Since 2017, Dr. Hoby has worked to protect Madagascar’s unique biodiversity,
especially lemurs. She is also interested in how lemurs might use plants to support
their health, and how this connects to the broader One Health approach, recognizing
the link between animal, human, and environmental health.

Dr. Hoby loves to travel and take photos of nature, both in Madagascar and abroad.
She shares the vision of Lemur Love, protecting wildlife by supporting Malagasy
women, young conservationists, and rural communities.
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Even with the many challenges Madagascar faces, Dr. Hoby stays hopeful. She
believes small actions can lead to meaningful and lasting change.​

Ms. Ny Ony Lalaina Ratovonjanahary​ (Research Manager)

Ny Ony Lalaina is a Malagasy biologist and conservationist with a keen interest in studying species communities and their interactions within ecosystems. For her MSc, she conducted research on the relationships between baobab tree species and vertebrates. During this research journey, she observed frequent visits by lemurs to baobab trees, which spurred her to investigate further the importance of lemurs for baobabs.

Driven by her passion for conservation, Ny Ony Lalaina had the opportunity to meet people who shared her passion and inspired her for her future career. She joined the dedicated team at Lemur Love as a research manager, where she continues her work in understanding and protecting Madagascars unique ecosystems.

In addition to her conservation efforts, Ny Ony Lalaina is deeply interested in innovative tools and methods that aid in making informed conservation decisions and solving ecological problems. She co-founded the Mutual Learning Lab, a pioneering association that focuses on informatics and mathematics applied to biology and ecology in Madagascar.
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Beyond her scientific endeavors, Ny Ony Lalaina is also deeply committed to promoting well-being and improving mental health. She actively contributes as a community educator with Omena NGO, an organization dedicated to breaking the cycle of emotional abuse and helping individuals overcome emotional health challenges.​

DR. SEHENO CORDAUNT-ANDRIANTSARALAZA (Advisor)

In 2023, Dr. Seheno was named one of the 50 people changing the world by the Explorer's Club for her remarkable contributions to conservation biology in Madagascar. She is the Chief Operating Officer at the Malagasy non-profit organization Fanamby. Seheno earned her Ph.D. at the University of Antananarivo where she focused on the seed dispersal of Malagasy baobab trees. She had a life-changing experience when she worked at the NGO Reniala Lemur Rescue Center, in that she fell in love with lemurs and became an advocate for their conservation. 

Dr. Seheno is the Madagascar manager of the Lemur Conservation Network, and a member of the IUCN Primate Specialist Group’s Section for Human-Primate Interactions. Seheno’s collaborative research on baobabs has been funded by the Explorers Club Discovery Expedition Grant and PEER-USAID. 

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​Lemur Love is a small US-based non-profit organization (501(c)(3)) that conducts scientific research and 
​partners with Malagasy women to build capacity and promote conservation. ​

Header photo credit Thorston Milse.