Azzedine T Downes

International leader in the fight for animal welfare Azzedine T Downes looks back on a nomadic life that saw him immersed in the cultures of Morocco, Eastern Europe, Northwest Africa, Israel, and his native United States, and talks about his groundbreaking work for wildlife.

Downes, an American Muslim with Irish roots, began his career as a volunteer teacher and is now president and chief executive of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). His memoir describes himself befriending the glue-sniffing shoemakers of Fez, becoming the de facto manager of a traveling break-dance troupe, dodging bullets on his daily commute and finding himself cursed over a feast of couscous gone wrong. The most powerful story is of his marriage to an elusive girl in Tangiers arranged after only two meetings. Their story spans continents, defies language barriers and an antagonistic State Department bureaucrat.

‘One of the most extraordinary and fascinating books [I have] ever read’ world-renowned conservationist Jane Goodall

Downes has worked at IFAW for 25 years and has been chief executive and president for the last decade. IFAW works with an eclectic mix of communities in more than 40 countries to help animals and people thrive together. Fast Company named Downes one of the ‘The 100 Most Creative People in Business’ and he has been listed among The NonProfit Times’s ‘Power and Influence Top 50’.