Tosha Comendant, Ph.D.
Senior Conservation Scientist
Email: tosha@consbio.org See CV [PDF]
Tosha joined the Conservation Biology Institute in March of
2008 as a Senior Conservation Scientist.
Tosha is passionate about the conversion of scientific knowledge into
conservation practice. She currently
leads a team developing a web-based conservation data and information sharing
system, called Data
Basin
(www.databasin.org). Data
Basin in an innovate tool
that provides access to data about complex ecological, political, and economic
systems. Users can upload, download, visualize, integrate, save, share, and
critique information without the usual constraints of file formats and
proprietary software. Data
Basin fosters
collaboration between policymakers, conservationists, activists, and scientists
by accelerating the exchange and transfer of conservation data and information.
Prior to joining CBI, Tosha was a member of the lead science team at The Nature
Conservancy based in Arlington,
VA. The team provided leadership on emerging
science issues, advised senior management, and collaborated with staff across
the organization to bolster science capacity. Tosha advanced a number of
critical issues, including evidence-based conservation, climate change,
conservation easements, technology systems, and sustainable forest management
practices. She was also the editor in
2007 of The Science Chronicles, a month publication for science-minded
conservationists.
Tosha received her Ph.D. from the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UC Santa Cruz where she studied life history evolution in lizards. She received her B.A. from UC Berkeley in Integrative Biology.
Tosha maintains two field projects that investigate the impacts of invasive species in island ecosystems. She is evaluating the demographic response of reptiles to the removal of black rats from Anacapa Island (Channel Islands National Park) and testing removal methods and impacts of invasive ice-plant.
Tosha lives with her husband Everett and their dog, Makalu and Madagascar Day Gecko in Oakland, California. She enjoys biking, yoga, gardening, reading, and traveling.
