Plenaries

Plenary panels will discuss important issues involving biodiversity, climate change, and conservation science, with an opportunity for the audience to pose questions. Three plenaries are planned:

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• Plenary 1​: Science, Society, and the Challenges of Conservation Science

  • Discussion Leader: Dr. Valerie Luzadis | GCSE Board Chair, Interim Associate Provost and Dean of the Graduate School, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York

  • Dr. Sally Archibald | Associate Professor, School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg​ (South Africa)

  • Dr. Raman Sukumar | Professor, Center for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science ​(India)

  • Sherri Mitchell, Esq. | Founding Director, Land Peace Foundation (USA)

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• Plenary 2: Harnessing the Power of Global Data for Local Conservation Education and Biodiverse Actions

  • Moderator: Simran Sethi

  • Lynda Hopkins | Supervisor, Fifth District of Sonoma County (USA)

  • Clara Rowe | Chief Executive Officer, Restor (Switzerland)

  • Limbi Blessing Tata | Founder and Executive Director, Ecological Balance Cameroon (Cameroon)

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• Plenary 3: Intergenerational Ways of Knowing to Engage and Protect Biodiversity During Times of Planetary Stress

  • Discussion led by Simran Sethi

  • Harrison Watson | Princeton University (USA)

  • Saleemul Huq OBE | International Centre for Climate Change and Development (Bangladesh)

  • Alexandria Villaseñor | Founder, Earth Uprising (USA)

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• Plenary 4: Advancing Equity and Inclusion in the Research Community

  • Discussion Leader: Michelle Wyman | GCSE Executive Director

  • Dr. Steward Pickett | Ecologist, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies

  • Mulako KabisaI | PBES Research Fellow, Research Associate, Indaba Agricultural Policy Research Institute (Zambia) (invited)

  • Dr. Yemi Katerere | Independent Environmental and Policy Expert (Zimbabwe) (invited)

  • Dr. Christopher Schell | Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley (USA) (invited)