Jesudas (Jess) Joseph joined CBI in August 2021 as a software engineer and will be responsible for IT administration. He was born in Corvallis, Oregon, but moved to Bangalore, India, at the age of one. After living in India for 16 years, Jess and his family moved back to Corvallis. Jess graduated from Oregon State University in June 2021 with a major in computer science. He enjoys spending his time outside hiking, taking photos, and running sound and other tech at his church.
Torrence joined CBI in August 2021. She enjoys working in a variety of languages and technologies and considers herself a polyglot programmer. Torrence recently returned to higher education and is currently a student in the Natural Resources program at Oregon State University specializing in Landscape Analysis.
When not studying or researching where to travel in her van, Torrence spends most of her spare time hiking and camping in the outdoors. She also enjoys board games and reading sci-fi. She plans to eventually hike a section of the Blue Mountains Trail. She lives in Portland, OR with her partner and their cat.
Jenna Sposato is from the Bay Area, California, 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 Biologist and Data Analyst. Originally from Corvallis, OR, Jacob finished his B.S in Biology specializing in ecology from Oregon State University, and is working towards a GIS certificate. He is looking forward to contributing towards CBI’s efforts to solving ecological problems that advance the conservation of biodiversity. Jacob loves spending time outdoors, gardening, cooking, and playing guitar!
Dr. Dominick A. DellaSala is President and Chief Scientist of the Geos Institute in Ashland, Oregon and President of the Society for Conservation Biology, North America Section. He is an internationally renowned author of over 150 technical papers, including the award winning “Temperate and Boreal Rainforests of the World” (www.islandpress.org/dellasala). Dominick has given plenary and 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 in congressional hearings in defense of the Endangered Species Act, roadless area conservation, national monument designations, forest protections, and climate change among others. For his efforts to help foster national roadless areas conservation and support 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. His rainforest book received an academic excellence award in 2012 from Choice magazine, one of the nation’s premier book review journals. Dominick co-founded the Geos Institute in July 2006. He is motivated by leaving a living planet for his daughter 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.
Kathleen Pollett is a Biologist with more than 20 years of experience specializing in endangered species, landscape ecology, and restoration. She has designed, permitted and carried out scientifically credible wildlife improvement projects throughout Central and Southern California. She has worked implementing large scale Habitat Conservation Programs in Southern California and designed research projects for stream breeding amphibians in Oregon. She has prepared trainings for Federally and State listed species to assist in project design and assessment. She has conducting extensive fieldwork throughout her career.
Bill is proud to have grown up in Oak Park, IL but has lived on the West Coast for most of his adult life. Bill studied philosophy at Occidental College and received his Masters in Mathematics Education from DePaul University. After teaching math at the high school and community college level in his twenties, Bill decided to learn how to program and defend wildlife with computers. He loves working with geospatial data because of its connection to mathematics and the beautiful visual displays that can be created. When Bill is not at CBI, he is usually watching David Attenborough documentaries, snowboarding, playing guitar, or expanding his collection of tropical house plants.