Craig R. Sholley is the African Wildlife Foundation’s Senior Vice President and Special Advisor. Craig's experiences with wildlife and conservation began in 1973 as a Peace Corps volunteer in Zaire. As an L.S.B. Leakey grant researcher in the late 1970s, Craig studied mountain gorillas with Dian Fossey and, in 1987, became director of Rwanda's Mountain Gorilla Project, of which the African Wildlife Foundation was a sponsor. Craig has acted as scientific advisor for the award-winning IMAX film, Mountain Gorilla, and, with National Geographic, he surveyed the conservation status of mountain gorillas in the aftermath of Rwanda's civil war. Craig’s direct involvement with AWF began as a senior associate and member of AWF’s Board of Trustees. He became a full-time employee of AWF in 2001 and now serves as senior vice president.