On 14 June 2018, Portia de Rossi surprised her wife, host Ellen DeGeneres, during a live episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, announcing that DeGeneres would fund a permanent research centre for the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund in Rwanda. The 12‑acre campus, built on a former rental site, began construction in 2019 and officially opened in February 2022, featuring laboratories, a library, classrooms, interactive exhibits and housing for visiting scientists.
Within eighteen months of opening, the centre welcomed more than 40,000 visitors, half of whom were Rwandan citizens, and hosted 7,500 local schoolchildren in science workshops and conservation training. Dr. Tara Stoinski, president of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, praised the partnership, saying the campus has become a vital educational hub for the region.
The project has also advanced gorilla conservation, with the campus supporting anti‑poaching patrols, habitat restoration, and community‑based monitoring. Scientists at the centre report that mountain gorilla numbers have steadily increased, a rare trend among wild ape species.
A documentary, Saving the Gorillas: Ellen's Next Adventure, premiered on Discovery Channel in September 2023 to mark World Gorilla Day and showcased the campus’s construction and field work. The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund announced that the campus will expand its community programmes, adding new classrooms and training modules for Rwandan students and local rangers.