Morning speaker session

Click on (PDF) after the presentation title to view slides when available. Click on the presentation title names highlighted in blue to view select videos. 

Michael Allen is a Distinguished Professor in the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, UC Riverside. He does research in ecosystem-level dynamics with a special emphasis on impacts of disturbance and global change. He also directs the Center for Conservation Biology which focuses on working between policy makers, the public, and the research community on California and global conservation issues.

Peter Alagona is an Associate Professor in History, Geography and Environmental Studies at UC Santa Barbara. He is an environmental historian and historian of science with additional interests and training in geography, conservation biology, and science and technology studies.

Heidi Ballard is an Associate Professor in School of Education, UC Davis.She collaborates with teachers and out-of-school educators to study what and how people learn and may benefit from participating in community and citizen science (CCS) programs. She also works with conservation scientists and community organizations to study and improve the ways they design and implement CCS programs.

Lee Hannah is Senior Fellow in Climate Change Biology at  Conservation International’s (CI) Center for Applied Biodiversity Science. Tracking  with his interest in the role of climate change in conservation planning and  methods of corridor design, he heads CI’s efforts to develop conservation  responses to climate change. He also works collaboratively with the Bren School and  UC Santa Barbara to model climate impacts on species in California.

Lila Higgins is a museum educator and science communicator with 14 years of experience in environmental education, exhibit development, and citizen science programming. In late 2008 she joined the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles where she currently oversees the Museum’s Citizen Science program and was the lead educator on the Museum’s Nature Gardens and Nature Lab exhibits.

Travis Longcore is an Assistant Professor of Architecture, Spatial Sciences, and Biological Sciences at the University of Southern California. He is a core faculty member in the Landscape Architecture graduate program and the undergraduate BS in GeoDesign. He is a Faculty Affiliate of the GIS Research Laboratory and the Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies and serves as Science Director of The Urban Wildlands Group, a Los Angeles-based conservation nonprofit. Dr. Longcore’s research is focused on nature in cities 

Adina Merenlender is a Cooperative Extension Specialist at UC Berkeley and is an internationally recognized conservation biologist working on environmental problem solving at the landscape-scale. She has published extensively on the influence of land use on biodiversity. She is dedicated to bridging the gap between conservation science and practice through community led environmental stewardship, education, and citizen science. 

Paakuma’ Tawinat is a San Manuel Band of Mission Indians tribal member and cultural presenter who teaches Serrano language, culture, and history.