Damien served as a Naval clearance diver & Special Operations sniper for the Australian Defense Force. In 2009 while travelling through Africa, he was inspired by the work of wildlife rangers and the plight of nature. Liquidating his life savings, the IAPF was established to be the last line of defence for nature. Over the past decade, IAPF has trained rangers which now help protect over 10 million acres of wilderness. In 2017 Damien founded ‘Akashinga - Nature Protected by Women’, an IAPF program that has already grown to over 160 employees, becoming the only group of nature reserves in the world to be managed and protected by women. Their goal is to employ 1000 women by 2025. He is the winner of the 2019 Winsome Constance Kindness Gold Medal, a prestigious international recognition for services to animals and humanity. Past recipients include David Attenborough and Jane Goodall. He was featured recent James Cameron documentary Game Changers, and is about to release another doco with Cameron about his work with the women of Akashinga. His TEDx talk at Sydney Oprah House has been seen over 7 million times. He has spoken at the UN, featured in June19 National Geographic Magazine & 3 times on 60 Minutes.