Don is a Professor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, UC Santa Cruz, Co-founder of Island Conservation, founding partner and Science Director of the conservation for-profit Conservation Metrics, Inc., Faculty Director of the UCSC Natural Reserve System, and a National Geographic Fellow. He has conducted conservation research on island ecosystems and marine vertebrates for over 30 years and published over 100 papers and articles on the conservation and ecology of marine species and island ecosystems. As a professor, he has been dedicated to developing the research programs, courses, and graduate training needed for direct conservation action. Early in his career, he won the Audubon Conservation award for his conservation research in California fisheries bycatch leading to the closure of a coastal California gill-net fishery. In 2006, he led a unique coalition of academics, conservationists, politicians, and fishermen that resulted in the US Pacific Fishery Management Council adopting a ban on commercial fishing for krill in federal waters in recognition of its vital importance to marine food webs. He has trained over 600 undergraduates and 17 graduate and postdoctoral students in marine conservation, conservation biology, and field methods in conservation. Don received his B.S.in biology from UC Davis, M.S. from Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, and a Ph.D. from UC San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography. He is currently the Robert Headley Presidential Chair for Integral Ecology and Environmental Justice.
After failing at commercial fishing and professional surfing, Bernie pursued his Plan C – becoming a scientist. He’s now a serial conservation entrepreneur. Before co-founding Freshwater Life, he co-founded the: Conservation Action Lab at the University of California, Santa Cruz; the nonprofits Island Conservation and Conservación de Islas that together have protected over 460 insular endemics from extinction, and formed over 1,665,000ha of new marine and island protected areas; and the for-profit social venture, Conservation Metrics. He also helped develop the: Henry Arnhold Fellows Program which finds great people with proven conservation solutions and helps them go to scale; and, California Biodiversity Initiative a Governor’s Directive that commits California, the world’s 5th largest economy, to no new extinctions of native species and protecting and restoring 30% of each California ecosystem.
With over 25 years of experience in conservation, Gregg Howald is a leading expert in the field of ecosystem restoration. He has been involved in the eradication of invasive species in islands from the high latitudes to the deep tropics. 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 working toward increasing the scale and scope of conservation actions.