Lecture Series

Douglas Brinkley, Theodore Roosevelt Biographer
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Douglas Brinkley, Ph.D., is a professor of history at Rice University, a fellow in history at the James Baker Institute for Public Policy, and renowned author. Brinkley’s most recent publication is “The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America”. Brinkley is the history commentator for CBS News and a contributing editor to the magazine Vanity Fair, the Los Angeles Times Book Review and American Heritage, as well as a frequent contributor to the New York Times, The New Yorker, and the Atlantic Monthly.

Curt Meine,  Aldo Leopold Biographer
2:30 pm – 3:30 pm

Curt Meine, Ph.D., is a senior fellow at the Aldo Leopold Foundation, and has been a researcher, writer, editor, reviewer, and advisor for a broad range of conservation organizations and other institutions at the state, national, and international level. Meine also serves as the Director for Conservation Biology and History at Centers for Humans and Nature. He has authored several works on Aldo Leopold’s life and work for which he has received special recognition.

Ian Shive, Conservation Photographer
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Ian Shive is an award-winning conservation photographer, author and multimedia producer whose goal is to captivate audiences through new trends in story telling using imagery as the primary tool.  Ian is the recent recipient of the Gold Medal, 2010 Nautilus Book Award, in the Great Peacekeepers category in recognition of his top-selling book The National Parks: Our American Landscape, released in August 2009 on Earth Aware Editions.

Emilyn Sheffield, Professor of Recreation & Land Managment
10:30 am – 11:30 am

Emilyn Sheffield is a Professor of Recreation and Parks Management at California State University, Chico, California. For more than 20 years she has worked with partners to connect people to the parks and protected places that enhance our lives. Dr. Sheffield’s interdisciplinary team completes destination projects involving scenic byways, trails, heritage tourism infrastructure, and visitor services throughout California and the western U.S. California State Parks, the Save-the-Redwoods League, the National Park Service, the USDA Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management and local parks and tourism organizations are recent project sponsors or partners.

Juan Martinez, Children and Nature Network
2:15 pm – 3:15 pm

Juan D. Martinez is the national Natural Leaders Network coordinator for Children &Nature Network. His passion to empower individuals and youth led him to direct Sierra Club’s first environmental justice youth leadership academy in Los Angeles. In 2006, Juan was a delegate to the Latino Congress, and he is included in “Hispanics Living Green.”  A student at the California State University Los Angeles, he is a recipient of Congresswoman Hilda Solis’ Environmental Youth Leadership Award and “Looking to the Future” award from the Breaking the Color Barriers conference.  Juan received a “Green for All” 2009 fellowship; and is on the national executive committee for the Sierra Student Coalition. Juan is a spokesperson for the Sierra Clubs’ Building Bridges to the Outdoors initiative.

J. Michael Scott, Professor & Research Scientist, Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources
3:30 pm – 4:15 pm

J. Michael Scott is a professor in the Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources at the University of Idaho, senior research scientist for the U.S. Geological Survey, and Leader of the Idaho Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. Dr. Scott has devoted a lifetime to the study and conservation of the world’s rarest species. He has published more than 200 journal articles and written or edited nine books. His work has been recognized with multiple national and international awards from public agencies, nonprofit groups and professional societies. Techniques he helped develop to estimate population sizes of birds and identify conservation status of species and ecosystems are being used worldwide to inform natural resource management and policy decisions. His current research focuses on recovery of endangered species.
Presentation: National Wildlife Refuge System 2103: Where, What, Who? (pdf)

Majora Carter, Eco-entrepreneur
10:30 am – 11:30 am

Majora Carter is the host of the Peabody Award winning public-radio series: The Promised Land. She has a long list of awards and honorary degrees, including a MacArthur “genius” Fellowship. She founded Sustainable South Bronx in 2001 when few were talking about “sustainability“; and even fewer, in places like The South Bronx. Since 2008, her consulting company, MCG has exported Climate Adaptation, Urban Micro-AgriBusiness, and Leadership Development strategies for Business, Government, Foundations, Universities, and economically under-performing Communities.

Jeff Salz, Adventurer/Mountaineer/Anthropologist
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Jeff Salz, considered one of today’s authentic adventurers and explorers, provides the foundation for adventurous thinking in any organization. An authority on authentic cultures, a 35 year veteran of adventuring and exploring with a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology, Jeff spent 10 years as a university professor. Dr. Jeff Salz has traversed most of the remaining blank spots on the globe. An expert in innovation, Jeff was the creativity consultant for the production team of The Lion King, the top grossing film of all time. He has consulted and lectured for U.S. A.I.D. and the U.S. Information Agency in both Asia and Latin America. Jeff has also served as liaison officer and interpreter for NBC Television News, reporting from behind the rebel lines of El Salvador. A recognized television personality, he is a guest expert on adventure for the CBS Early Morning show and both creates and stars in adventure specials for the Discovery Network.