Gary Roemer is a vertebrate ecologist with four decades of experience in wildlife ecology and conservation. He spent twenty years as a professor in the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Ecology at New Mexico State University. His research has focused on the genetics, ecology, physiology, and demography of vertebrates. Gary was involved in reintroduction projects for bald eagles and island foxes on the California Channel Islands and prairie dogs in the Southwest United States. He has worked extensively on state and federally protected lands, including military installations, and has experience in managing invasive mammals in both insular and continental settings. His research on the interactions between insular carnivores, golden eagles, and invasive pigs has become a classic example of apparent competition in ecology and formed the biological cornerstone for saving three subspecies of the island fox from extinction. He is an avid hiker, hunter, and motorcycle rider and enjoys spending time with his family and friends, including his two hiking buddies, Duke, a Chesapeake Bay Retriever, and Lulu, a Boston Terrier.

Michael Sorice is an Associate Professor in the Department of Forest Resources & Environmental Conservation at Virginia Tech. His research focuses on individual and group human behavior as it relates to environmental stewardship and conservation. His work is situated in the social dilemma framework in which conservation over the long term is considered essential to sustaining human well-being; yet, people opt instead for their short-term self interest. He has experience in a wide variety of topics including outdoor recreation, nature-based tourism, ecosystem-based management, endangered species, and private lands conservation. For the past ten years, Michael has been applying social-psychological theories and methodologies to natural resource issues to assist with conservation-related planning and decision-making. He travels regularly to Cambodia to visit his in-laws

Gloria M. Luque is ACS’s lead scientist. She supports many of ACS’s projects by leading data collection, statistical analyses, and syntheses. She earned a Ph.D. from University of Córdoba, and held a post-doctoral position at Ohio State University and a Marie Curie Fellowship at University of South Paris. Prior to joining ACS, Gloria held a research position with the CNRS (French National Centre for Scientific Research) at University of South Paris. She spent a decade researching ants. Her work is focused on providing statistical, modeling, programming, and scientific support, as well as co-leading some of our monitoring and evaluation efforts. Gloria is fluent in English, French, and Spanish. She splits her time between Andalucia and the Wasatch Mountains.

Raúl Arteaga Bengoa is a specialist in governance and socio-environmental management. He has over a decade of experience applying various tools and approaches to strengthen processes critical in the sustainable development of fishing communities. Raúl has led projects in Peru, Ecuador, Chile, and Panama for a variety of institutions and organizations in the public and NGO sectors, including FAO, UNDP, GEF, the Nature Conservency, and Conservation International. His interests include ocean governance, small-scale fisheries, food security, marine protected areas, and climate change adaptation. Raul is a founding partner of the Youth Congress for Sustainable Americas and a member of the Climate Reality Leadership Corps, international platforms focused on transformative conservation actions, environmental restoration, and climate change. His work with ACS and the Instituto Milenio en Socio-Ecología Costera is focused on systems-level assessments and solutions to improve fisheries in the Humboldt Current

With over two decades of experience, Gregg Howald is leading expert in the field of island restoration. He has been involved in the eradication of invasive species from more than 75 islands in eight countries. With a diverse technical background, grounded in ecotoxicology, Gregg’s focus has evolved into conservation diplomacy and is a key member of controversial projects. He helps lead public engagement processes, where he supports the communication of risks and benefits of projects to inform values‐based decisions including regulatory compliance processes and stakeholder engagement. He has developed a network of global partners from government agencies, private industry, NGOs, academic institutions, and local communities. Gregg is currently working on building networks of multilateral and transboundary public-private partnerships to bring industry, government, scientists, and NGOs together under national and international policy frameworks that are focused on island restoration programs, with a goal to increase the scale, scope, and pace of the eradication of invasive species from insular ecosystems.

Rocío López de Lama is a social science researcher specializing in small-scale fisheries, human rights, and nature conservation. She holds a PhD from the University of British Columbia and an MPhil in Conservation Leadership from Cambridge University. Rocío adopts an interdisciplinary approach, integrating theories and methodologies from diverse fields to address complex socio-ecological challenges. As a Global South researcher, she has conducted extensive fieldwork with diverse communities in Peru, often in challenging and dynamic contexts. Currently, she is a postdoctoral fellow focusing on ocean defenders—environmental and human rights advocates striving for a sustainable, healthy and equitable future for our oceans.

Stefan Gelcich is an Associate Professor at the Pontifica Universidad Católica de Chile where he studies the social-ecological dimensions of environmental conservation and marine fisheries management. Much of Stefan’s work is focused on the interplay between ecological and governance determinants in implementing and effectively managing protected areas. He also has a long-standing interest on the links between fisheries management, biodiversity conservation, and environmental attitudes of stakeholders. Stefan’s conservation efforts have generally involved the creation of demonstration-scale experiments and learning platforms for conservation. Foremost among these has been the creation of a new conservation model in Chile that involves the participation of fisher unions, academics, and local councils in the creation of protected areas. He is a regional councilor for Global Green Grants, an environmental NGO that awards small grants to grassroots movements engaging in environmental issues, and was awarded a Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation in 2014.

Rodrigo Estévez is a Sociologist and an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Science at Universidad Santo Tomás, Chile. Focused on social-ecological systems, he uses multi-criteria participatory methodologies to support decision-making in natural resource management. This includes using expert elicitation protocols and other tools for the planning and management of artisanal fisheries and protected areas. He holds a Masters in Biology and PhD in Science from the University of Melbourne. Rodrigo is the founder of the environmental consulting firm Estudios Socio-Ambientales Consultores. He is also active in the training and mentoring of young practitioners and scientists.

Josh leads ACS by building interdisciplinary teams to tackle problems in novel ways. He founded ACS in 2006, which focuses on program design, sustainability science, and evaluation. Trained as a natural scientist, Josh holds a Ph.D. from Cornell University and an M.A. from the University of California. He has worked on environmental and social issues in over a dozen countries, including the management of invasive species, environmental restoration, conservation finance, and incentive-based approaches to environmental conservation. Prior to ACS, Josh served as the Chief Scientist for Project Isabela in Galápagos Islands, one of the world’s largest island restoration project. He also played a pivotal, early role in the NGO Island Conservation, whose mission is to prevent extinctions by removing invasive species from islands. He served as a key advisor to the Chilean and Argentinean governments on the restoration of Tierra del Fuego. Josh has held fellowships with the Fulbright Commission, Guggenheim Foundation, Alcoa Foundation, and the Copeland Fellowship in Global Sustainability at Amherst College. He is currently a Research Fellow at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Josh splits his time between the Wasatch Mountains and Andalucia.

Anna Santo is a PhD Candidate at the University of British Columbia’s Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability. Her dissertation research focused on social and cultural dimensions of carnivore reintroduction and is rooted in theories of risk perception and preference construction. She is a Steering Committee member for the Joint Nations Grizzly Bear Initiative in British Columbia, which is an effort that is co-led by an alliance of First Nations and the Province to explore the ecological and social feasibility of reintroducing Grizzly bears into the North Cascades Ecosystem of British Columbia and Washington. Previously, she was a Research Social Scientist with the USDA Forest Service.

A native of Costa Rica, Viviana Ruiz-Gutierrez is an ornithologist whose research focuses on the impacts of environmental changes on bird populations in Latin America. She is a staff quantitative ecologist at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Prior to returning to Cornell, where she earned her Ph.D., she was a senior scientist at Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory and a researcher in the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology at Colorado State University. Viviana spends much of her time supporting capacity building efforts of the Lab’s Neotropical Conservation Initiative Program

Harry Greene is a Professor Emeritus in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology & Faculty Curator of Herpetology at the Museum of Vertebrates at Cornell University.

Karl Lohwater JD is the Chief Compliance Officer of AIP Asset Management Inc. and the Chief Financial Officer of Buck HR Securities LLC. Previously, he was General Council & Secretary of Buck Consultants and Towers Perrin.

Mike Donlan is a veteran technology executive who has held senior leadership roles at several major firms. He spent 14+ years at Microsoft — including as General Manager for Worldwide Public Sector and head of its U.S. state & local government business — where he helped governments deploy cloud and enterprise IT solutions globally.

Josh leads ACS by building interdisciplinary teams to tackle problems in novel ways. He founded ACS in 2006, which focuses on program design, sustainability science, and evaluation. Trained as a natural scientist, Josh holds a Ph.D. from Cornell University and an M.A. from the University of California.