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
. Data Basin is 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 monthly 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.
