Beverly (Bev) Law is Professor Emeritus of Global Change Biology & Terrestrial Systems Science in the Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society at Oregon State University. She is a fellow of the American Geophysical Union and the Earth Leadership Program. She has published more than 240 refereed journal articles and book chapters and is a Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researcher, in the top 1% in the world across fields (H index > 100). Her 30 years of research includes the effects of climate, wildfire and management on forest carbon processes, and related emissions to the atmosphere at multiple scales from ecosystems to regional and global, and forest carbon accounting. She has testified in multiple US congressional hearings on topics including climate change, wildfires, and forest management. You can find her publications here, such as “Creating Strategic Reserves to Protect Forest Carbon and Reduce Biodiversity Losses in the United States”: http://terraweb.forestry.oregonstate.edu/beverly-law.
Robin Jones is the executive director of Conservation Biology Institute. She brings a strong foundation in biological sciences and a career that bridges environmental impact, technology innovation, and cross-sector leadership. With a BS in Biological Sciences from Stanford and an MBA from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, she has held executive roles spanning product management, marketing, partner ecosystems, and organizational operations. Her work has increasingly focused on advancing environmental data access and decision-making tools. As Senior VP of Marketing & Business Development at Socrata, she helped governments harness open data for greater transparency and resource management. At Esri, she founded and led Esri’s geospatial developer business unit, enabling wider integration of location intelligence into conservation, land-use planning, and environmental monitoring applications, among others. Her career reflects a commitment to translating complex science and technology into tools for ecological resilience and sustainability.
Moriah Van Voorhis is a GIS Analyst with experience using spatial analysis to aide in the management of declining species. She takes interest in exploring the complexities and patterns present on a landscape to catalyze solutions for the restoration of natural ecosystems. She holds an M.S. in Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology from North Carolina State University. Her areas of expertise and interest include geographic information systems, species distribution, remote sensing, connectivity modeling, and conservation planning.
I’m a highly motivated climate change ecologist, conservation biologist, sustainability strategist, leadership and science professor, and environmental planner. I’m Chief Scientific and Policy Officer for the Conservation Biology Institute, Affiliate Professor at University of Washington’s Center for Environmental Politics and Inter-disciplinary Arts and Sciences, and Honorary Research Associate of two institutes at the University of Cape Town.
I have had a wonderful career so far, with 34 years working mostly in southern Africa, spanning academia, government, international organizations and initiatives, and national research institutes. Passionate about biodiversity and climate change globally, especially in Africa and the Americas, I operate almost equally comfortably at two levels, planetary and local, with science and society as the ‘lenses’ I use to observe.
In South Africa, I held posts at the South African National Biodiversity Institute of Lead Scientist for Climate Change BioAdaptation and Head of Biodiversity Futures (the latter one of numerous programs I’ve founded and led). From 2013-2016 I was also Honorary President of BirdLife South Africa, and I remain Honorary Research Associate at the University of Cape Town, in both the African Climate and Development Initiative (ACDI) and the Centre of Excellence at the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology.
On science: my main scientific interests are in the spatial and temporal responses of biodiversity and ecosystems to global change. Through 2016, I ran for 9 years a research team jointly between a university research institute and a government funded science-policy institute, to understand the vulnerability and adaptation of endemic species to complex global changes. To understand their responses, I used biogeography, population, community, behavioural and evolutionary ecology lenses, and collaborated with modellers, geneticists, and statistical ecologists.
On society: my main interests are in envisaging societal and environmental futures, in enabling powerful policy and behavioral change, and in bringing about (peaceful) tipping points for a new economy and sustainable society. Science is a key element in the sustainability transition ahead, but only really quite a small one. Far greater elements are economics, human needs and wants, perception, emotion, faith and how ordinary people make decisions in complex situations. To understand these issues in Africa, I used systems analysis, horizon scanning, trends analysis, early warning systems, citizen science, leadership studies, and complex models (in collaboration with modellers!).
My work blends strategic planning, leadership, research, teaching, publication, writing, editing, public speaking, mentorship and citizen science. I teach young scientists and implementers in spatial ecology, biodiversity conservation, land use planning, climate change, environmental policy, conflict resolution, and leadership. I’ve been fortunate to work with some of the best minds on the planet, and hope a few of their ideas and skills rubbed off.
Apart from my day job, I’m a loving parent (to Cat and Julia Barnard Simmons) and wife (to filmmaker John Bowey), a climber of active volcanoes, modest mountaineer, haphazard trail runner, community volunteer, and film co- producer. I love good music, eclectic and diverse people, beauty and diversity in nature, and yummy vegan cuisine.
Affiliate Professor, University of Washington, Bothell, School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences – https://www.uwb.edu/ias/faculty-and-staff/phoebe-barnard
Affiliate Professor, University of Washington, Seattle, Center for Environmental Politics – https://depts.washington.edu/envirpol/?page_id=21
Honorary Research Associate, University of Cape Town (UCT) FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology – http://www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za/fitz/staff/research/barnard
Honorary Research Associate, UCT African Climate and Development Initiative – http://www.acdi.uct.ac.za/acdi/affiliates-people/dr-phoebe-barnard
Alliance of Leading Environmental Researchers & Thinkers page: http://alert-conservation.org/key-people/
Film co-producer, writer, and storyteller, Transmediavision USA – tmvusa.net/ and https://www.phoebebarnard.com/conservation-writing-filmmaking
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phoebe-barnard/
personal portal – www.phoebebarnard.com
Dan Airola is a Wildlife Biologist with strong experience in corporate management of consulting businesses, natural resource planning, and biological consulting and research. Dan is President of Conservation Research and Planning, a small northern California firm. He recently retired as president of Northwest Hydraulic Consultants Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of NHC Ltd, a $30 M Canadian firm that specializes in water resource science and engineering. He also served as co-chair of the firm’s Board of Directors.
Previously, Dan ran his own sole-proprietorship biological consulting firm, served as Vice President and Board Chair of Jones & Stokes Associates, a western U.S. Environmental Consulting firm, and worked as a biologist and planner for the Lassen National Forest. Altogether, he has 40 years of experience practicing and managing environmental and engineering consulting firms based in northern California. He also serves as a Director of an environmental consulting firm and hyrology consulting firm in California and several non-profit conservation groups.
Independently Dan conducts long-term research and conservation programs on at-risk bird species and bird-urban habitat relationships. He has conducted long-term studies and published over 60 scientific papers, including works on the population status, ecology, and conservation of the Purple Martin and Tricolored Blackbird, importance of native oaks to migrant and resident birds in urban habitats, Turkey Vulture and Swainson’s Hawk migration, and effects of West Nile Virus on bird populations.
Jenna Sposato lives in the Portland Metropolitan area, Oregon, and joined the CBI team in August 2021. With a BS in Agricultural Sciences and Sustainability from Oregon State University, she is passionate about our organization’s mission to support the conservation of biological diversity towards a healthier, more ecologically sustainable planet. Jenna writes our monthly newsletter, manages our accounts on all social media platforms, and assists with marketing strategy. She enjoys spending her free time writing music, hiking, and making art of all kinds.
Jacob Strittholt works as a Ecologist and Geospatial Analyst. Originally from Corvallis, OR, Jacob finished his B.S in Biology specializing in ecology from Oregon State University. He is passionate about contributing towards CBI’s efforts to solving ecological problems and advancing the conservation of biodiversity. Jacob loves spending time outdoors, gardening, cooking, and playing guitar!
Dr. Dominick A. DellaSala has worked for several nonprofit conservation organizations for >40 years as a global biodiversity and climate change scientist while also serving as President of the Society for Conservation Biology, North America Section. He is an internationally renowned author of >300 peer-reviewed articles and 9 co-authored award-winning books, including Temperate and Boreal Rainforests of the World: Ecology and Conservation; Mixed-Severity Fire: Nature’s Phoenix; and Conservation Science & Advocacy for a Planet in Peril: Speaking Truth to Power. Dominick has given keynote talks ranging from academic conferences to the United Nations (Earth Summit II). He has appeared in National Geographic, Science Digest, Science Magazine, Time Magazine, Audubon Magazine, National Wildlife Magazine, High Country News, Terrain Magazine, NY Times, LA Times, USA Today, Jim Lehrer News Hour, CNN, MSNBC, “Living on Earth (NPR),” and several PBS documentaries. He has testified as an expert witness at numerous congressional hearings in defense of the Endangered Species Act, roadless areas, national monuments, old-forest protections, and climate change remediation among others. For his efforts to help foster national roadless areas conservation and designation of new national monuments, he received conservation leadership awards from the World Wildlife Fund in 2000 and 2004, the Wilburforce Foundation in 2006, and was twice nominated for conservation awards for his work as a whistleblower while on the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service spotted owl recovery team. Dominick is motivated by leaving a living planet for his 2 daughters, 4 grandkids, and all those that follow.
John Waugh is an adviser on conservation strategies and planning, with a focus on the role of information in conservation policy, and on sustainable finance mechanisms. He has been involved in protected area management for 30 years, as a park ranger, manager, planner, and strategist. He is the author of several publications on invasive species and a contributor to several on protected areas, all with IUCN. After 20 years with IUCN, he is working for Integra LCC based in Washington, DC. His current interests include risk assessment, eco-informatics, climate adaptation strategies, sustainable finance mechanisms, and learning networks for conservation. He lives in the Virginia Piedmont hunt country, where he has not yet succeeded in mediating between foxes and hounds.
William (Bill) Ripple is a University Distinguished Professor of Ecology in the Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society as well as the Director of the “Trophic Cascades Program” at Oregon State University. He has published more than 200 journal articles and was co-lead author of the “World Scientists’ Warning of a Climate Emergency 2021”. He is the director of the Alliance of World Scientists which has 26,000 members from 180 countries.