Cyrie was formerly Global Director of IUCN’s Policy and Programme Group. She is a biologist by training, with a master’s (M.Sc.) degree and a PhD in Zoology from the Free University of Brussels (Belgium). Her career has focused on natural resources management, encompassing both research and development perspectives. She previously worked at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi, where she was responsible for biodiversity and biotechnology issues in the framework of the programme to support the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). In 1998, she moved to Montreal, Canada, to head the Biosafety Programme at the CBD Secretariat. In that capacity, she coordinated the final round of the negotiation of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and its subsequent implementation. In 2006, Cyrie joined CIFOR (Center for International Forestry Research) as Regional Coordinator for the Central Africa Regional Office, based in Yaoundé, Cameroon. She joined IUCN in September 2010 where she served until the end of January 2021.
Cyrie is the author and co-author of many publications on environmental issues and is a Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science. She has also served on a number of prestigious international scientific panels, committees and initiatives. Cyrie was born and grew up in Rwanda and holds dual citizenship of both Rwanda and Canada.