Emily Barbo

Symposium Speaker: Jeremy Hoffman

September 7, 2023

The Salazar Center is proud to announce that Jeremy Hoffman, Ph.D., Director of Climate Justice and Impact, Groundwork USA, will be joining us in Denver, Colorado for the fifth-annual International Symposium on Conservation Impact.

Jeremy is the Director of Climate Justice and Impact at Groundwork USA and an affiliate faculty in the L. Douglas Wilder School of Governmental and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University and the Department of Geography, Environment, and Sustainability at the University of Richmond. Jeremy is an award-winning environmental educator and nationally-recognized climate science researcher and communicator. He is the Lead Author for the Southeast Chapter of The Fifth National Climate Assessment and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Before joining Groundwork USA, Jeremy was the David and Jane Cohn Chief Scientist at the Science Museum of Virginia, where he led award-winning community science, youth, and adult climate resilience programs focused on extreme heat and air quality, including collaborating with Groundwork RVA on several projects. He also serves as the Chapter Lead for the Southeast Chapter of the Fifth National Climate Assessment, giving him a unique balance of community-focused, educational, and academic experiences that he will bring to Groundwork USA. Dr. Hoffman received his Ph.D. from Oregon State University in 2016.

Resources

Throwing Shade on Climate Change | Jeremy Hoffman | TEDxYouth@RVA Accelerating Climate Resiliency Speaker Series: Extreme Heat and the Legacy of Racist Housing Policy

Accelerating Climate Resiliency Speaker Series: Extreme Heat and the Legacy of Racist Housing Policy

Emily Barbo

Symposium Speaker: Jessica Montoya

September 7, 2023

The Salazar Center is proud to announce that Jessica Montoya, Trust for Public Land, Senior Director for Park Equity, Federal Affairs, will be joining us in Denver, Colorado for the fifth-annual International Symposium on Conservation Impact.

Jessica leads Trust for Public Land’s federal advocacy efforts to increase access to the outdoors and parks for underserved communities. She has over 20 years of experience working with Congress and Fortune Global 500 companies. Most recently, she led government affairs for Sodexo, a leading global food service firm, where she facilitated legislation focused on children’s health, better nutrition, and food education in schools. Previously, Montoya managed congressional affairs for the auto giant Chrysler and worked in U.S. Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton’s (D-DC) legislative office.

She was born and raised in Northern New Mexico, where her family owns land along the banks of the Rio Grande River passed on from generation to generation. Jessica is a graduate of the University of New Mexico and the University of New Mexico School of Law, and also holds an MBA from the John Hopkins University Carey Business School. Jessica enjoys hiking, kayaking and any outdoor activity. She has two children and a dog, and lives in Alexandria, VA.

Emily Barbo

Symposium Speaker: Lauren E. Oakes

September 7, 2023

The Salazar Center is proud to announce that Lauren E. Oakes, Adjunct Professor and Conservation Scientist at Stanford University, will be joining us in Denver, Colorado for the fifth-annual International Symposium on Conservation Impact.

Lauren is a conservation scientist and science writer. She is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Earth System Science at Stanford University. In addition to publishing her climate- and forest-related research in peer-reviewed journals, Lauren has contributed to many media outlets. Lauren’s first book, In Search of the Canary Tree (Basic Books, 2018) won second place for the 2019 Rachel Carson Book Award and was a finalist for the 2019 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Communication Award. She is working on a new narrative non-fiction book about the global reforestation movement.

By training, Lauren an ecologist and human-natural systems scientist, which means she considers people and “nature” as inherently linked; human and environmental health are intertwined. She works on advancing best practices in climate adaptation and implementation of nature-based solutions. She writes because she loves storytelling, and she believes there’s a pressing need to make science and solutions to environmental problems more accessible to people across the planet.

Resources

Tackling the Science Usability Gap in a Warming World: Co-Producing Useable Climate Information for Natural Resource Management

Strengthening monitoring and evaluation of multiple benefits in conservation initiatives that aim to foster climate change adaptation

Emily Barbo

Symposium Speaker: James Rattling Leaf

September 7, 2023

The Salazar Center is proud to announce that James Rattling Leaf, Principal, Wolakota Lab LLC will be joining us in Denver, Colorado for the fifth-annual International Symposium on Conservation Impact.

James serves as a guide and inspiration to organizations to work more effectively with Indigenous Peoples for a more equitable world in his role as a global Indigenous Consultant and Principal of the Wolakota Lab, LLC. He has over 25 years’ working with the U.S. federal government, higher education institutions and non-profits. He specializes in developing programs that utilize the interface between Indigenous people’s traditional knowledge and western science. He sees a greater vision of human knowledge that incorporates the many insights of human cultures and provides a context for our better understanding of the planet and the world.

James is a founding member of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) Indigenous Alliance that was established at GEO Week 2019 in Canberra, Australia to foster a continued, effective, respectful, and reciprocal relationship with GEO and representatives of indigenous communities from around the world. He was born on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and is a citizen of the Oceti Sakowin, Sicangu Lakota. His higher education comes from Sinte Gleska University.

Resources

What is Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Why Does it Matter?

Emily Barbo

Symposium Speaker: Peter Byck

August 28, 2023

The Salazar Center is proud to announce that Peter Byck will be joining us in Denver, Colorado for the fifth-annual International Symposium on Conservation Impact.

Peter is currently helping to lead a $10 million research project comparing Adaptive Multi-Paddock (AMP) grazing with conventional grazing; collaborating with 20 scientists and 10 farm families, focused on soil health & soil carbon storage, microbial/bug/bird biodiversity, water cycling and much more. The research also includes a new, 4-part docuseries called “Roots So Deep (you can see the devil down there)” which is all about the inventive farmers and maverick scientists building a path to solving climate change with hooves, heart and soil. View the trailer here.

Peter is a professor of practice at Arizona State University.

Filmmaking Experience

Peter has over 25 years experience as a director and editor. His 1st documentary, garbage, won the South by Southwest Film Festival, screened in scores of festivals and played at the Museum of Modern Art and Lincoln Center. His 2nd documentary, carbon nation, has screened all over the world; it won the IVCA Clarion Award, the GreenMe Global Festival, and was runner-up for the EMA Award. Byck has directed shows for MTV starring Will Smith, John Travolta, Nicholas Cage, Drew Barrymore, Gwyneth Paltrow & David Duchovny. In addition, he has edited documentaries for Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” and “King Kong,” as well as documentaries and promotional shorts for Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, 20th Century Fox, MTV, Vh1, BBC, Disney and MGM, including “The West Wing,” “The Matrix,” “Scrubs,” “ER” & many more.

Emily Barbo

Symposium Speaker: Tiffany Turner

August 28, 2023

The Salazar Center is proud to announce that Tiffany Turner will be joining us in Denver, Colorado for the fifth-annual International Symposium on Conservation Impact.

Tiffany is an environmental health and climate scientist. She holds a Master’s in Public Health from the University of Michigan where she focused on the intersection of environmental and personal health. Tiffany spent over a decade in the energy industry creating and executing environmental policies and investing in communities to deliver sustainable alternative energy. She joined the The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP) as director of climate solutions in February 2021. In this role, she is now leading a coalition of conservationists to build support and shift mindsets for natural climate solutions while advancing climate mitigation, adaptation, and resilience policies. Before joining TRCP, Tiffany held a position at Chevron, where she had the opportunity to shape environmental and sustainability strategies and build partnerships for careful stewardship of the environment.

A native Kentuckian, she now lives in Washington, D.C. with her wife and two children.

Learn more about TRCP’s work in Nature Based Solutions.

Related articles:

Eight Things We Wish All Hunters and Anglers Knew About Climate Change

72 percent of hunters and anglers see a changing climate

Six Ways to Help Farmers, Foresters, and Ranchers Combat Climate Change

Emily Barbo

Symposium Speaker: Peter Stein

August 28, 2023

The Salazar Center is proud to announce that Peter Stein will be joining us in Denver, Colorado for the fifth-annual International Symposium on Conservation Impact.

Peter joined Lyme Timber Company in 1990 and has significant experience in conservation-oriented forestland and rural land purchases and dispositions. As Lyme’s Managing Director, Peter develops conservation sale strategies on properties being evaluated or managed by Lyme and also leads Lyme’s conservation advisory business.

As of 2020, Lyme raised more than one billion dollars of private capital for investment in high conservation value forests in the United States and Canada. Lyme’s conservation advisory business assists families and companies in the design and execution of conservation transactions, and has so far resulted in more than 900,000 acres of permanent land conservation in 12 states and the Province of Quebec.

Prior to his career with LTC Partners and Lyme, Peter was Senior Vice President of the Trust for Public Land where he directed conservation real estate acquisitions in the Northeast and Midwest. Peter lectures frequently at graduate schools and professional conferences on conservation investment structures and strategies. Peter is the co-founder of the Conservation Finance Network and the International Land Conservation Network. In addition, he is a former Board Chair of the Land Trust Alliance, served as a founding Commissioner of the Land Trust Accreditation Commission.

Peter earned a B.A. with Highest Honors from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1975 and was a Loeb Fellow and received a Certificate in Advanced Environmental Studies from Harvard University in 1981.

Emily Barbo

Symposium Speaker: Alonso Martínez

August 8, 2023

The Salazar Center is proud to announce that Alonso Martínez will be joining us Denver, Colorado, for the fifth-annual International Symposium on Conservation Impact.

Alonso has collaborated for more than five years in United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)’s Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN), where he currently acts as National Coordinator.

He has a degree in Economics from Tecnológico de Monterrey, a Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Economics from México’s National University, and a master’s in Economics and Environmental and Energy Policy from University College London. He began his career at CONANP, contributing to estimating the financial gap of protected areas and developing economic valuation of ecosystem services. During his career, he has contributed to integrating the economic and financial approach into public policies for the conservation of biodiversity.

The Biodiversity Finance Initiative is a global partnership launched by UNDP and the European Commission that supports countries to enhance their financial management of biodiversity and ecosystems. Forty countries have already started a national BIOFIN process.

BIOFIN makes use of three detailed country-level assessments to develop a biodiversity finance plan, drawing on qualitative and quantitative data, innovative methodologies, and global and national expert input. It aims to develop a methodology for quantifying the biodiversity finance gap at the national level, for improving cost-effectiveness through mainstreaming of biodiversity into national development and sectoral planning, and for developing comprehensive national finance plans.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

BIOFIN Mexico, Executive Summary of Phase 1: Results and Biodiversity Finance Solutions

BIOFIN Knowledge Briefs: Conversations in Biodiversity and FinTech

Emily Barbo

Symposium Speaker: Jorge Daniel Taillant

August 4, 2023

The Salazar Center is proud to announce that orge Daniel Taillant will be joining us in Denver, Colorado for the fifth-annual International Symposium on Conservation Impact.

Jorge Daniel Taillant is Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Human Rights and Environment.

Daniel has over two decades of experience in the area of environmental justice, human rights protection, corporate accountability and climate change. He is currently the Executive Director of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) of the North American US, Canada and Mexico Agreement where he is working to guide the CEC’s actions on advancing regional environmental protection, environmental justice, indigenous engagement, ecosystems conservation, environmental quality and green growth.

The Council of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) was established by Canada, Mexico, and the United States to implement the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation, the environmental side accord to the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Daniel has been published extensively on issues ranging from environmental protection to human rights, international finance, corporate accountability and glacier protection.

He has focused much of his recent advocacy on promoting fast climate mitigation and adaptation actions to reduce super climate pollutants (methane, black carbon, HFCs & O3) to slow warming and avoid breaching irreversible climate tipping points.

Emily Barbo

Symposium Speaker: Jodi Hilty

August 4, 2023

The Salazar Center is proud to announce that Jodi Hilty will be joining us in Denver, Colorado for the fifth-annual International Symposium on Conservation Impact.

Dr. Hilty is the President and Chief Scientist of Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y). Specializing in ecological corridor and large landscape research, she has more than 25 years of experience managing large landscape conservation efforts. This work focuses on applying best available information to address complex challenges through community-based, collaborative efforts, and also supports Indigenous leadership in conservation.

She is co-editor or lead author on four books, including Corridor Ecology: Linking Landscapes for Biodiversity Conservation and Climate Adaption (2019) and she led writing the 2020 IUCN Guidelines for Conserving Connectivity through Ecological Networks and Corridors as the deputy chair of the IUCN Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group.

The Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative is a joint Canada-U.S. not-for-profit organization and the only organization dedicated to securing the long-term ecological health of this entire region.

Jodi is personally invested and interested in growing diversity in science and conservation. This is realized in various ways, such as supporting and advising future leaders involved in conservation biology and large landscape conservation. This includes serving on the Smith Fellows board to support scientists who bridge science to conservation, developing diverse leaders in the field of conservation biology.

Emily Barbo

Symposium Speaker: Kevin Maddaford

July 14, 2023

The Salazar Center is proud to announce that Kevin Maddaford will be joining us in Denver, Colorado for the fifth-annual International Symposium on Conservation Impact.

Kevin is the US & Canada Carbon Markets Director at The Nature Conservancy, where he provides strategic leadership and support for state chapters and Nature United (TNC’s affiliate in Canada) to develop and market high-quality carbon projects across various natural climate solutions pathways and advance the integrity of carbon markets. He works closely with TNC’s Global Carbon Markets team to coordinate implementation of TNC’s carbon strategy in support of TNC’s 2030 goals. Prior to joining TNC, Kevin spent 15 years in the private sector, managing procurement of environmental commodities on behalf of organizations and advising them on decarbonization strategies.

Prior to joining The Nature Conservancy, Kevin worked for 15 years in the private sector, leading sourcing of carbon credits and energy attribute certificates from projects around the world on behalf of voluntary market end-users and advising those organizations on strategies for the procurement and proper use of environmental commodities in their decarbonization strategies.

Kevin graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder with a B.A. in philosophy and German studies. Kevin lives in the Denver, Colorado area and enjoys hiking, snowboarding, camping and making music with family and friends.

Emily Barbo

Symposium Speaker: Jeannie Renné-Malone

July 13, 2023

The Salazar Center is proud to announce that Jeannie Renné-Malone will be joining us in Denver, Colorado for the fifth-annual International Symposium on Conservation Impact.

Jeannie Renné-Malone, VF Corporation, Vice President of Global Sustainability

Jeannie oversees all aspects of VF’s sustainability strategy across its brands, operations, supply chain, materials, and products. Under her leadership, VF has integrated green financing, circular design, sustainable materials and innovation across its portfolio of brands from farm to cradle, reducing energy, waste, carbon emissions and water usage, encouraging regenerative farming practices, and embedding renewable energy and sustainability priorities across its operations and supply chain.

Learn more about VF’s committment to the betterment of our planet.

She has an MA in International Finance and Development from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver, a BA in Spanish from the University of Washington, and holds several sustainability certifications. She sits on committees and boards of several environmental and industry organizations and is a Red Cross Board Member. She is fluent in Spanish.