Speaker and Panelist Biographies
Allison Aldous – Director of Research and Monitoring, The Nature Conservancy
Dr. Allison Aldous is a freshwater scientist with The Nature Conservancy. Her projects cover a range of topics, including groundwater-dependent biodiversity, wetland restoration, and water quality. She oversees monitoring and research for the Conservancy's Oregon chapter. For the last two years she has lead the Oregon chapter's technical work on climate change. Allison serves on technical committees that support the Oregon Governor's Global Warming Commission. In the past, Allison led a wetland training program for Conservancy staff across the U.S. and in Central and South America. Allison holds a Ph.D. (2001) from Cornell University, and a M.Sc. (1994) in plant sciences and a B.Sc. (1989) in biochemistry from McGill University. Allison has authored numerous journal articles and technical papers on the topics of wetland restoration, wetland responses to atmospheric nitrogen deposition and adapting biodiversity conservation to the expected impacts of climate change.
Daniel Ashe – Science Advisor to the Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Mr. Ashe is the Science Adviser to the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with broad leadership responsibility for science and scientific applications to natural resource management. Previously, he served as the Chief of the National Wildlife Refuge System and as Assistant Director for Refuges and Wildlife, directing operation and management of the 100 million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System., land acquisition, and migratory bird and wetlands conservation programs. Mr. Ashe also served as the Fish and Wildlife Service's Assistant Director for External Affairs, directing the agency's legislative, communications, research, Native American, and state grants programs.
Patty Glick – Senior Global Warming Specialist, National Wildlife Federation
Patty Glick is Senior Global Warming Specialist at the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). She has been dedicated to the issue of climate change for more than 18 years and has played an important role in educating a diverse constituency of Americans about the issue, as well as developing and promoting meaningful management and policy solutions. For the past 11 years, Ms. Glick has been instrumental in helping NWF build a targeted grassroots global warming campaign. She has led major research studies on the impacts of sea-level rise on U.S. coastal habitats, including major areas of Florida, the Pacific Northwest, and the Chesapeake Bay region and has participated in several governor-appointed working groups to develop state-based climate change adaptation strategies. In 2007, Ms. Glick was one of 23 women around the world named as "An outstanding woman working on climate change issues" by The World Conservation Union (IUCN), and she was recognized by The Wildlife Society as "Today's Wildlife Professional" in The Wildlife Professional, Fall 2008. Ms. Glick received an M.S. degree in economics from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and a B.A. from Sweet Briar College in Virginia, where she was class Valedictorian.
Robert Gruenig – Senior Policy Analyst, National Tribal Environmental Council
Linda Joyce – Research Scientist, US Forest Service
Linda Joyce is a research scientist with the US Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station in Fort Collins, Colorado. Her area of expertise is quantitative ecology and her recent research has focused on quantifying the impacts of climate change on ecosystems, wildlife habitat, and the socio-economic implications of climate change on the forestry sector. She is also working with other western scientists on developing adaptation options for natural resource managers and planners to climate change. As the Climate Change Specialist for the Assessment process in the Forest Service, she coordinates analysis of potential effects of global climate change on the condition of renewable resources on the forests and rangelands of the United States. She has contributed to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports. She was an author in the recently released U.S. Climate Change Science Program Synthesis and Assessment Report 4.4. 'Adaptation Options for Climate-Sensitive Ecosystems and Resources.’
John Kostyack – Executive Director of Wildlife Conservation and Global Warming, National Wildlife Federation
John Kostyack is Executive Director of Wildlife Conservation and Global Warming for the National Wildlife Federation, where he leads NWF's cross-organizational strategic initiative to safeguard wildlife and ecosystems from the impacts of climate change. Among his responsibilities are the national campaign to incorporate natural resources safeguards in federal climate change legislation and NWF's advocacy on endangered species, invasive species and state wildlife action plans.
John frequently writes and lectures on meeting the challenges of conserving U.S. wildlife and ecosystems. He recently published articles on updating the National Flood Insurance Program to address global warming and is currently working on a book chapter on the future of the Endangered Species Act in a warming world.
John is a longtime leader in ESA policy and litigation. He helped to win the endangered species conservation tax incentive for private landowners recently passed by Congress and has won a series of important court rulings through his legal advocacy.
Daniel Lashof– Director, Climate Center, Natural Resources Defense Council
Dr. Daniel Lashof is the Director of the Natural Resources Defense Council's Climate Center. Dr. Lashof joined NRDC in 1989 and works as a senior scientist specializing in national energy policy, climate science and solutions to global warming.
Currently, Dr. Lashof is involved in developing federal legislation to place enforceable limits on carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping pollutants and to reduce America's dangerous dependence on oil. He has also served on the Presidentially-appointed Federal Advisory Committee on Options for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Personal Motor Vehicles, the National Research Council's Committee on Atmospheric Chemistry and was a member of the Energy Research and Development Panel of the President's Committee of Advisers on Science and Technology which produced the report Federal Energy Research and Development for Challenges of the Twenty-First Century for former President Bill Clinton. Dr. Lashof has also participated as an observer in the deliberations of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. He was a lead author of the Special Report of the IPCC on the role of land-use change and forestry in exacerbating or mitigating global warming. In addition to Dr. Lashof's many publications, he is also frequently asked to testify on aspects of global warming and energy policy before various Congressional Committees, and has appeared on the McNeil-Lehrer News Hour and Crossfire, among other television and radio station broadcasts. He holds an A.B. magna cum laude in Physics and Mathematics from Harvard University and a Ph.D. from the interdisciplinary Energy and Resources Group at the University of California, Berkeley.
David Schad – Director, MN DNR, Division of Fish and Wildlife
Dave Schad, Minnesota's Fish and Wildlife Director, has worked his entire career for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. He has extensive experience with waterfowl, wetland, forest and big game management programs. He has also served in area and regional wildlife positions, and was previously the state's Wildlife Chief before being appointed the Division Director in January 2006. He has a B.S. in Wildlife Management from the University of Minnesota, and currently chairs the Lead in Fish and Wildlife Health and Climate Change subcommittees for the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.
Larry Schweiger - President and CEO, National Wildlife Federation
Larry Schweiger is President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Wildlife Federation. He returned to the National Wildlife Federation in March 2004 with a commitment to confront global warming to protect wildlife for our children's future. National Wildlife Federation is America's conservation organization, with 48 affiliates and more than four million supporters.
Previously, Larry served for eight years as President and CEO of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, where he pioneered watershed restoration and promoted ecological research, land conservation and community outreach in high priority conservation areas. Prior to that, Larry was the Executive Secretary of the Joint House/Senate Conservation Committee for the Pennsylvania General Assembly, Senior Vice President for Conservation Programs at National Wildlife Federation, and 1st Vice President of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
Larry is an active community leader, having served on more than 40 governing boards, commissions and committees. He is the current Chair of the Green Group, a coalition of thirty of our nation's leading environmental organizations. Larry also currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Alliance for Climate Protection and the John Heinz Center for Science, Economics and the Environment. He was selected as Pennsylvania's Environmental Professional of the Year in 2002, Pittsburgher of the Year in 2000 and he received a Conservation Service Award from the Christian Environmental Association in September 1995. Larry is married to Clara Schweiger and has three adult daughters, two sons-in-law, and two grandsons.
Michael Scott – Biologist, US Geological Survey
Dr. Scott and his graduate students are currently conducting research on topics as diverse as recovery of endangered species; diversity, integrity, and health of wildlife populations on National Wildlife Refuges; and effectiveness of current nature reserves in protecting the biodiversity of America.
From 1974 to 1984, Dr. J. Michael Scott served as a Research Biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at Mauna Loa Field Station, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. This was his first assignment with the U.S. Department of Interior, the agency he continues to serve today as a Senior Scientist with the Biological Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey. From 1984-1986, he served as Project Leader of the Condor Research Center in Ventura, California. In 1986 he was appointed to the position he holds at present, Leader of the Idaho Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit in Moscow, Idaho. In addition, he is a Professor in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources at the University of Idaho, where he pioneered the Gap Analysis Program and served as GAP Program Leader from 1989-1997.
Dr. Scott has authored and co-authored more than 200 journal articles, books, book chapters, and monographs. Additionally, Dr. Scott's professional accomplishments have been recognized by the Society for Conservation Biology with both the Distinguished Achievement Award and the Edward T. La Roe III Memorial Award. He has received Distinguished and Meritorious Service Awards from the U.S. Department of the Interior, a Twentieth Century Environmental Achiever Award at the Ninth Lukac's Symposium and the American Ornithologists Advancement of Science and the American Ornithologist's Union. Dr. Scott is a past President of both the Cooper Ornithological Society and the Pacific Seabird Group and has served on the Boards of a number of professional societies and nongovernmental organizations. He has a B.S. in Biology and an M.A. in Biology from San Diego State University and a Ph.D. in Zoology from Oregon State University.
Mark Shaffer– Environment Program Director, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
Dr. Shaffer joined the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation in January 2004 as Program Director for the Environment. He is a recognized leader in biodiversity conservation with extensive experience in population viability analysis, conservation biology and resource economics. As Senior Vice President of Programs for Defenders of Wildlife, he provided direction, oversight, and administration of the organization's species, habitat, and legal work, while managing a regional staff in eight states. Prior to his work with Defenders of Wildlife, Mark worked with three other major conservation organizations: The Nature Conservancy, The Wilderness Society, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Mark received a Bachelor of Science degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and his PhD from Duke University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. His doctoral research on grizzly bears helped to pioneer population viability analysis in conservation biology. Mark has also served as a consultant for federal and state agencies on various endangered species issues.
Gary Taylor- Legislative Director, Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
Gary J. Taylor is Legislative Director for the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, a quasi-governmental organization established in 1902, which represents the 50 state fish and wildlife agencies on fish and wildlife conservation matters. He has held this position since July 1991.
Prior to that, Taylor served in several capacities with the State of Maryland Department of Natural Resources, most recently, (July 1986-July 1991) as Director of the Wildlife Division. Previously he administered the agency's non-game and endangered species program. During his tenure in Maryland, Taylor was Recovery Team Leader for both the Chesapeake Bay Bald Eagle and Delmarva Fox Squirrel Recovery Teams. Taylor holds a B.S. (1971) and Master of Science (1976) degree from the University of Maryland in Wildlife Biology, Conservation and Management.
Katie Theoharides – Conservation Planning Associate, Defenders of Wildlife
Katie Theoharides is the Conservation Planning Associate at Defenders of Wildlife. Katie focuses on climate change adaptation, the implementation phase of the state wildlife action plans, farm bill and other conservation incentive programs, spatial analysis of conservation plans, and strategic habitat conservation. Prior to joining Defenders, Katie worked at the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition in Washington, DC helping to advance strong conservation policy in the U.S. farm bill. Katie has a B.A. in ecology from Dartmouth College and a M.S. in ecology from the University of Massachusetts-Boston. Her past research focused on interacting components of global environmental change including climate change and invasive plants.
Robert Twilley – Professor, Louisiana State University
Dr. Twilley is professor in the Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences and serves as Associate Vice Chancellor of Research and Economic Development to develop the 'Coastal Sustainability Agenda' at Louisiana State University. Most of Dr. Twilley's research has focused on coastal wetlands both in the Gulf of Mexico, throughout Latin America, and in the Pacific Islands. Dr. Twilley has published over 100 articles including several documents on global climate change, coastal restoration and ecosystem ecology. He is Distinguished Professor in Louisiana Environmental Studies at LSU and directs the Shell Coastal Environmental Modeling Laboratory. Dr. Twilley received his PhD in 1982 in plant and system ecology from the University of Florida, and performed his post-doc studies at University of Maryland on the Chesapeake Bay. Presently, Dr. Twilley heads up the Coastal Louisiana Ecosystem Assessment and Restoration program sponsored by DNR that is developing ecosystem models coupled with engineering designs to forecast the rehabilitation of coastal and wetland ecosystems.
Brooks Yeager– Executive Vice President, Clean Air - Cool Planet
Brooks Yeager is the Executive Vice President of Clean Air - Cool Planet, where he works with national and international policy-makers to develop effective and pragmatic approaches to addressing climate change. Priorities include cap and trade architecture, adaptation planning, technology research strategies, and efforts to mitigate and adapt to accelerating climate change in the Arctic. Brooks held several senior environmental policy positions in the Clinton Administration, leading global negotiations as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Environment and Development at the State Department and coordinating natural resource policy as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs under Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt. He has also managed global conservation efforts at the World Wildlife Fund, directed the Washington, DC Office of the Audubon Society, and led energy and wilderness conservation campaigns for the Sierra Club. His interests include the Arctic, birds, and music. Brooks graduated from Stanford University. He is married to Cynthia Diane Shogan and has two daughters, Hannah, 28, and Liesel, 25.
