Biographical Sketches

 

Thomas O. McShane has over 25 years of experience in conservation and development.  He has worked in the private sector, for government in both developed and developing countries and for international, non-governmental organizations.  He is currently the affiliated with the Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University as the principal investigator of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation-supported Advancing Conservation in a Social Context research initiative investigating the complex trade-offs that exist between conservation and development.  Most recently, he was senior conservation advisor to WWF International with responsibility for conservation and development projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America.  Dr. McShane co-authored (with Jonathan Adams) The Myth of Wild Africa : Conservation Without Illusion and is co-editor (with Michael Wells) of Getting Biodiversity Projects to Work: Towards More Effective Conservation and Development. He has written extensively on conservation and people issues. 

Sheila O'Connor is currently the director of the Conservation Measures and Audit Programme at WWF International. She has worked for WWF for 20 years undertaking a variety of duties; starting her work as a technical advisor on two integrated conservation and development projects (ICDPs) in southern Madagascar. This was followed by a period as principal technical advisor for all biodiversity-related projects throughout Madagascar and finally serving as WWF’s Madagascar country programme director for several years. Dr. O'Connor left Madagascar in 1996 after nine years with WWF’s programme there. She was also the interim director, Africa and Madagascar Programme based in Switzerland for two years as well as heading up the Conservation Strategies unit based in Washington D.C. Recently, Dr. O'Connor moved into a half-time position at Arizona State University’s Global Institute for Sustainability serving as a research advisor on the Advancing Conservation in a Social Context initiative. Dr. O'Connor has a Bachelor of Arts degree in environmental science from the University of Vermont, a Master of Philosophy degree in applied biology from the University of Cambridge (UK) and a PhD (also applied biology) from the University of Cambridge. Research for her PhD thesis was conducted during a three-year period in Madagascar looking at the effect of human impact in riverine forest ecosystems. Dr. O'Connor was awarded the honor of ‘Chevalier de l’Ordre National’ by the President of Madagascar in 1995 for services in conservation to that country.

J. Peter Brosius is a professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Georgia and director of the Center for Integrative Conservation Research.  As well, he teaches in a graduate program that is focused on Ecological and Environmental Anthropology. He serves as an associate editor of the journal Human Ecology, was past president of the Anthropology and Environment Section, American Anthropological Association, is a member of the IUCN Commission on Economic, Environmental and Social Policy (CEESP) Co-Management Working Group and the World Commission on Protected Areas/CEESP Theme on Indigenous and Local Communities, Equity and Protected Areas (TILCEPA).  In 2005, Dr. Brosius was awarded the Lourdes Arizpe Award in Anthropology and Environment.  Dr. Brosius' research in Environmental Anthropology focuses on political ecology and on the cultural politics of conservation at both local and global scales.  Previously, his research focused on international environmental politics in Sarawak, especially as this pertained to the international campaign focused on Penan.  Recently he has been working with the Kelabit community in Sarawak to develop a project called “Protected Area Planning and Implementation in Pulong Tau National Park.”  In conjunction with the ACSC initiative, he continues a research trajectory focused on global conservation and the politics of scale, with a particular focus on ecoregional planning and conservation finance.  Brosius has published in journals such as American Anthropologist, Current Anthropology, Conservation Biology, Ambio, Global Environmental Change, Society and Natural Resources, Comparative Studies in Society and History, Identities and Human Ecology.

Ann Kinzig, is the Arizona State University Liaison and Advisor in the Advancing Conservation in a Social Context project, and was also a member of the Planning Team. She is an Associate Professor at Arizona State University in the School of Life Sciences. Her academic work has focused on theoretical ecology, resilience, and the interaction of social and ecological systems, including most recently a focus on ecosystem services. In 1998-99 she served in the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the U.S. Government, as the first AAAS Roger Revelle Fellow in Global Stewardhip. Her portfolio while there included climate change, carbon sequestration, and energy policy. Ann has a PhD in Energy and Resources, and an M.A. in Physics, from the University of California at Berkeley, and a B.S in Physics from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She has numerous publications in her fields of interest, including Functional Consequences of Biodiveristy (co-edited with S. Pacala and D. Tilman, Princeton University Press) and Exploring Resilience in Social Ecological Systems (Special Issue in Ecology and Society, co-edited with B. Walker, J. Anderies, and P. Ryan).

Hoang Van Thang is the director of Centre for Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (CRES) at the Vietnam National University in Hanoi. From 1980 to present, Dr. Thang has worked in the area of wetland conservation, biodiversity conservation, ecological approaches conservation and community-based conservation management. Dr. Thang has worked as faculty in the biology department at the University of Hanoi, CRES, VNU and WWF Indochina Program and has strengths in environmental planning and ecology.

Alexander Songorwa has a Bachelor of Science in Zoology and Wildlife Ecology from the University of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania (1987), a Master of Science in Rural Planning and Development from the University of Guelph, Canada (1994) and a PhD in Natural Resource Management from Lincoln University, New Zealand (1999). Currently, Dr. Songorwa is a senior lecturer at Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) in Tanzania where he lectures undergraduate and postgraduate classes in Wildlife Policies and Legislation; Participatory Natural Resource Conservation and Wildlife Utilization (undergraduate); and Protected Area Management, Community Development and Eco-tourism Planning and Management (postgraduate). Dr. Songorwa has worked extensively in research on issues related to community-based conservation, wildlife policy development and development, and has been involved in several consulting works in relation to natural resources assessments. He has also supervised many undergraduate and postgraduate students in their research work. Dr. Songorwa joined SUA in 2001. Before that he worked as Wildlife Officer for several years and served in various capacities (including assistant project manager for the Selous Game Reserve) in the Tanzanian Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism.

David R. Mutekanga holds a PhD in Environment Management having researched on the involvement of environmental NGOs in the implementation of the global convention of biological diversity. He also holds a Master of Science in Applied Entomology and Parasitology and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda. David has several postgraduate qualifications in various aspects of environment management including policy research and advocacy. He has also done research fellowships at the United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies in Japan. David has long working experience with national, regional and international level environmental NGOs in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia and South Africa. He has also lectured and administered at a national University in Uganda. David is currently coordinating the interdisciplinary research at the Ruaha Landscape Program in Iringa, Tanzania.

Rose Peter Kicheleri: A graduate in Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Management from Sokoine University of Agriculture (2007). After graduating she has been working for ACSC Project in Tanzania as a project assistant. Her duties include helping the project coordinator in a day-to-day project activities and financial management.

Manuel Pulgar-Vidal has been the executive director of the Peruvian Society for Environmental Law (SPDA) since 1994, which is arguably one of the most important and influential environmental law organizations in Latin America.  His areas of work and expertise  include environmental policy, with an emphasis on promoting dialogue between the public and private for-profit and non-for-profit sectors, and pollution prevention in productive sectors (especially mining and fisheries). He works frequently as a consultant for national and international organizations on environmental policy in Peru and throughout Latin America.  He has acted as speaker and conferencist in numerous national and international fora.   Mr. Pulgar-Vidal was a visiting professor at the University of Miami at the North South Center from August 1999, to May 2000, and is currently professor of environmental law at the Universidad Católica del Perú and Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas.  Mr. Pulgar-Vidal is currently a board member of FONDEBOSQUE – the national fund for sustainable management of forests and, until year 2000 he served on the board of PROFONANPE, the trust fund for protected areas in Peru.   He also acted as chairman of the board of the Permanent Seminar for Agrarian Research (SEPIA) from 2003 to 2005.  Mr. Pulgar-Vidal is an Avina Leader.  Avina is a group who recognizes leadership in people able to promote through dialogue and consensus building processes the improvement of social policies

Bruno Monteferri Siles is a lawyer from the Peruvian Society for Environmental Law (SPDA) and coordinator of the decentralized office based in Iquitos, region of Loreto. Graduated from the Faculty of Law of the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Peru (PUCP) with a temporary stay at the Barcelona University, Spain. Diploma on Integral Management of Coastal Marine Areas from the Guadalajara University in Mexico. Specialized in legal environmental issues and especially on governance, and public and private conservation mechanisms. Member of the Initiative for Private Conservation Team, of the Private Conservation Network and the Management Committee of Pacaya Samiria National Reserve. Published several articles on analysis of legal conservation opportunities and participated in two books “Management Committees: Constructing Governance for the Natural Protected Areas from Peru” and “Essay of the National Context: The Coast and its People”.

Juan Luis Dammert B. holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the Catholic University in Peru (PUCP), where he is an assistant professor. He has published articles in academic journals such as Debate Agrario (“Participación, Concertación y Confrontación en Espacios Locales. El Caso de la Mesa de Concertación Para la Lucha Contra la Pobreza del Departamento de Puno,” co-authored with Aldo Panfichi (2006), and Palestra (“Análisis de la Representación Congresal por Regiones” 2006). His research interests are on subjects related to decentralization, political representation, local conflicts and citizen participation, in which he is currently developing projects for the PUCP (“Political Representation in Latin America”), and the Instituto de Estudios Peruanos (“Gobiernos Locales y Conflictividad Social en la Región Puno”).

Paul D. Hirsch is a post-doctoral researcher at the Georgia Institute of Technology School of Public Policy.  His research centers on the interplay of science, politics, and values in decision-making under conditions of complexity.  He is also an experienced facilitator, having worked over the course of 15 years with a variety of non-profit and academic institutions both in the United States and abroad.  Dr. Hirsch’s research with the ACSC project pertains to the question of how the boundaries of complex trade-off problems get defined by 
multiple actors.  Additionally, he is facilitating the development of ACSC’s conceptual framework for engaging in multi-disciplinary and cross-cultural collaboration.  Dr. Hirsch has a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and Society from Cornell University, a Master of Science degree in Conservation Ecology and Sustainable Development from the Odum School of Ecology at the University of Georgia, and a Ph.D. in Public Policy from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Meredith Welch-Devine is a post-doctoral research associate for ACSC. She is currently studying the role of the social sciences in conservation planning, and her research interests include political ecology, state theory, common-pool resources, and policy implementation.  Meredith’s dissertation research focused on the implementation of the European Union conservation initiative Natura 2000 in the Basque province of Soule.  Meredith received her PhD in anthropology at the University of Georgia and holds a certificate in Conservation Ecology and Sustainable Development from UGA.  She received her B.A. in sociology and anthropology from Washington and Lee University.

Katie Hendricks came to the ACSC project in September 2008.  She will be coordinating website management for www.tradeoffs.org, network development activities, information dissemination, communication with research partners and administration of the Center for Integrative Conservation Research.  Prior to this, Katie worked at the UGA Physical Plant Division, Human Resources Department. She graduated from Western Washington University in 2003 with a B.A. in English Literature.

Maureen Lynch came to the ACSC project in October 2008 and is acting as Coordinator for the ecoServices Group within the Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University. She coordinates administrative and financial activities for ACSC as well as other ecoServices projects.  Prior to coming to ASU, Maureen worked in environmental programs in Arizona and Washington.  Maureen has a degree from Northern Arizona University in Business.