Sonam Tashi Lama, born and raised in the mountains, is one of the founding members of the Red Panda Network (RPN), Nepal. He was named the Disney Conservation Hero 2015 for his work on red panda conservation. Sonam and his team from RPN also recorded a marbled cat for the first time in Nepal. He has been implementing a community-based red panda conservation program in the Kangchenjunga landscape in Eastern Nepal. Lama holds a postgraduate degree in International Nature Conservation from Lincoln University and University of Gottingen.