Meet Instructor Mike

My name is Michael Stohner and I am the founder and CEO of Nomad International, a security consulting and government contracting service. Growing up, I felt a strong affinity to animals and envisioned working with them in some way as an adult. But life can take unexpected twists and turns, and I ended up in military service after the events of 9/11. In the US Army, I served in Special Forces as a Green Beret for 20 years. While exciting and rewarding in its own right, my career also provided the opportunity to travel in West Africa along the border regions of Niger, Burkina Faso, and Togo within the Parc “W” Nationale Parc. It was here that I was first introduced to the exotic animals I read about in my youth, while also offering insight to the challenges parks face in protecting wildlife and their habitats. During repeated trips to the Sahel, I also encountered the results of illegal poaching in Mali—elephants killed for their tusks. This experience was so upsetting, it shifted my personal focus toward conservation. 

While assigned to a counter-terrorism unit, my first opportunity to directly support wildlife conservation efforts came about in 2012. Cameroon was facing unprecedented wildlife trafficking challenges from organized crime syndicates, as well as terrorist organizations who used the illegal trade of elephant tusks to fund their activities in neighboring Sudan and beyond. My unit was invited on behalf of the US Embassy to work with Cameroon’s premiere counter terrorist unit to conduct counter-poaching operations in the Bouba N’djida National Park. Despite being rudimentary in its execution, we temporarily stopped poaching activities through our large presence in the park, alongside separate military training programs in neighboring countries which targeted terrorist cells. Sadly, later in that trip I witnessed extreme examples of habitat destruction when we passed seemingly endless fields of palm oil farms and other instances of deforestation. 

Following this deployment, I began earnestly learning more about wildlife conservation efforts and sought to connect with industry subject matter experts to find out how I could personally get involved. I was fortunate to get in touch with Chengeta Wildlife’s co-founder, the late Rory Young. We exchanged emails over the next several years, and during a follow-on assignment to West Africa, he shared several points of contact to report any wildlife trafficking I encountered. About a year later, Chengeta Wildlife held a fundraising event in collaboration with Global Conservation Force (GCF). As I was in the US between overseas deployments, I took advantage of the opportunity to attend the event where I was introduced to Nigel Kuhn and GCF’s Mike Veale. 

For the duration of my time in service, I maintained contact with everyone and we often discussed ways I could collaborate post-retirement. Yet once again, life had other plans and I returned to my home state of Hawai’i to start the next chapter of my life as a security consultant. Throughout, Mike Veale and I continued to discuss collaboration until we found the perfect opportunity for Nomad International to provide specialized training to his partners. Late last summer, my dream to support wildlife conservation through Nomad International became a reality, as I joined GCF for several weeks in South Africa. This trip laid the groundwork for future training engagements. 

My experience with GCF was phenomenal. The level of expertise and passion exhibited by Mike Veale and his team was inspiring. This single experience has led my company to take a more active role in providing training programs to GCF’s local partners. 

As a disabled veteran-owned business, it’s important for me to share the expertise I’ve acquired during my time in service. I am constantly seeking out ways to expand my services by integrating additional subject matter experts in order to train, assist and advise GCF’s priority partners.

With no formal education in conservation or wildlife care, I often struggled to find a way to leverage my skill and experience with GCF’s priorities. It was ultimately my unique background which made the partnership work. Through Nomad International, I was able to share my knowledge with those in harm’s way, so they can more effectively protect the wildlife and habitat in their care. For businesses or individuals with a passion for wildlife conservation who want to get involved, my recommendation is to be creative about how their own skills can be brought to bear in service of conservation. It does not have to be with the animals directly. If you can bring a skill or share expertise to improve the safety, care, or efficiency of those responsible for protecting wildlife, you can make a difference. If this isn’t a feasible option, donations to GCF have an immediate impact on the services and goods they offer. From hiring training consultants to providing vital gear and specialized equipment, your donations help GCF bring support to where it’s needed most.