Our Science Board
As a science-driven organization, Saving Nature believes that input from individuals with experience, wisdom, and perspective are indispensable to our strategy and implementation.
This input ensures that our projects have the highest merits in terms of urgency and importance.
We have assembled the leading conservation scientists to serve as advisers on our Science Board. Each advisor has decades of experience and respected leadership in the dynamics of habitat loss and species extinctions. Our President and Founder, Stuart Pimm, has collaborated with the members of our Science Board over many years to advance the field of conservation and apply its principles to practical action. We are fortunate to have a Science Team of true colleagues. Each of our Science Board members have made significant contributions to conservation science and we highly value their guidance.
World leader in the study of extinctions
Dr. Stuart L. Pimm
Stuart L. Pimm is the Founder and President of Saving Nature and the Doris Duke Professor of Conservation Ecology at Duke University. He is a world leader in the study of present day extinctions and what can be done to prevent them. His research covers the reasons why species become extinct, how fast they do so, the global patterns of habitat loss and species extinction and, importantly, the management consequences of this research. He is committed to science-driven conservation that empowers local communities.
Stuart received his Ph.D. from New Mexico State University in 1974. He is the author of many scientific papers about the loss of species and how to prevent extinctions. His books include The Balance of Nature? and, in 2001, the acclaimed World According to Pimm: a Scientist Audits the Earth.
He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the recipient of the 2006 Heineken Prize for Environmental Sciences (from the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences), the winner of the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement in 2010, and the International Cosmos Prize in 2019.
Leading expert on bird evolution, ecology, and conservation
Dr. Trevor Price
The author of the landmark text Speciation in Birds, Trevor Price is one of science’s leading experts on bird evolution, ecology, and conservation. He and his research team have focused much of their efforts on bird diversity in the Himalayan region, a significant biodiversity hotspot, how fast they do so, the global patterns of habitat loss and species extinction and, importantly, the management consequences of this research. He is committed to science-driven conservation that empowers local communities.
Dr. Price’s lab combines extensive field work, mostly in India and neighboring countries, with molecular biology to help understand how birds diversified into the wide variety of species in the world.
One of the world's leading botanists and conservation advocates
Dr. Peter Raven
Besides being President Emeritus at Missouri Botanical Garden, Peter Raven is also the George Engelmann Professor of Botany, Washington University in St. Louis. His Ph.D. is from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1960. He is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, as well as a foreign member of academies in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, China, Denmark, Sweden, Russia, India, and several other countries, the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, and a Fellow of the Royal Society (UK). He has more than twenty honorary degrees.
His major international awards include the International Prize for Biology (Japan), the International Environmental Leadership medal (United Nations), the Volvo Environment Prize, and the Tyler Prize. His publications on biodiversity and plant biology are many and influential.
Climate scientist, conservationist, educator, author
Dr. Terry L. Root
Terry L. Root is a Senior Fellow Emerita at Stanford University’s Woods Institute for the Environment and a prominent researcher in climate change and species conservation. She was a lead author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) 3rd and 4th Assessment Reports, contributing to the team that won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 with Vice President Al Gore. Root’s research focuses on the biogeographic and ecological impacts of climate change, particularly on global species, and the actions needed to mitigate species loss during the ongoing 6th mass extinction event. She is recognized for her work with several prestigious awards, including the Spirit of Defenders Award for Science (2010) and the Lifetime Achievement Award from Point Blue (2016).
Dr. Root earned a Ph.D. in Biology from Princeton University, an M.A. in Biology from the University of Colorado, and a B.S. in Mathematics and Statistics from the University of New Mexico. She held faculty positions at both the University of Michigan and Stanford University, where she continues to serve as an Emerita professor. In addition to her academic roles, she serves on the boards of Defenders of Wildlife, Birds Caribbean, and several scientific advisory boards, including the Renewable Energy Wildlife Institute.
She is an active public speaker, frequently presenting on the effects of climate change on biodiversity, wildlife, and renewable energy. Her contributions to science have been widely recognized, with numerous television and movie appearances discussing the environmental crisis and potential solutions. She currently resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Influential ecologist and award-winning author
Dr. Carl Safina
Ecologist and author Carl Safina’s earned a PhD in ecology from Rutgers University for his studies of seabird foraging. He is the first Endowed Professor for Nature and Humanity at Stony Brook University, and founder of the not-for-profit Safina Center. His writing explores what is at stake as humans continue to alter the living world, and what those alterations mean for wild places and for living beings. His work combines broad scientific understanding, emotional connection, and a moral call to action.
His writing has won the MacArthur “genius” prize; Pew, Guggenheim, and National Science Foundation Fellowships; the National Academies’ Communication of Science Award for best book of 2003, a Lannan Foundation book award, Orion Magazine’s Book of the Year, the Merck Literary Award; and the John Burroughs, James Beard, and George Rabb medals. Safina was host of the 10-part PBS series, Saving the Ocean on PBS.org.
Two of his books have been New York Times Notable Books of the Year, including his 2020 book Becoming Wild; How Animal Cultures Raise Families, Create Beauty, and Achieve Peace. More at CarlSafina.org and SafinaCenter.org.
Leading expert on lemurs and their conservation
Dr. Patricia Wright
Pat Wright received her Ph.D. from the City University of New York in 1985. She is a leading expert on lemurs, having discovered a new species, the golden bamboo lemur. That discovery led to her establishing a world-renowned centre at Ranomafana, Madagascar for studying that country’s biodiversity and the issues involved in protecting it.
She received a MacArthur Foundation “Genius Award” and, in 1995, Madagascar’s National Medal of Honor. Her life and research are featured in Michael Apted’s “Me and Isaac Newton” an award-winning documentary that features scientists and their creativity.
In Memoriam
With heavy hearts, we sadly mourn the passing of two iconic figures in the world of conservation, both of whom served on the Science Board of Saving Nature, Tom Lovejoy and Ed Wilson. Tom and Ed devoted their lives to expanding our understanding – and our love – for nature. We will miss them dearly and will carry on their commitment to cherish and protect biodiversity.
Dedicated defender of biodiversity
Dr. E. O. Wilson
Ed Wilson, another dear friend and colleague, served on the Saving Nature Board for over a decade. What an inspiration he was.
A passion for the wildlife of his native Alabama—especially its bugs—compelled Ed Wilson into a lifetime commitment to science and nature. Ed received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1955 and began the field research that led to his theory of island biogeography, a bedrock of ecology. With his research into the principles of conservation biology, Ed became a dedicated defender of biodiversity.
In addition to his voluminous contribution to the scientific literature, he has written many books for a popular audience explaining the importance of protecting biodiversity around the world. Some of these seminal works include The Diversity of Life, Biophilia, The Future of Life and The Creation. Ed Wilson is the recipient of two Pulitzer Prizes and numerous international scientific achievement awards, including the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement (1984) and the National Medal of Science (1976).
Conservation visionary and influential leader
Dr. Thomas Lovejoy
It is with great sadness that we report the death of our Science Board member Tom Lovejoy. He was a dear friend and a towering presence in conserving Earth’s biodiversity— the term he created. As an esteemed member of our Science Board, he guided our projects with wisdom and care to ensure the best results for biodiversity.
Tom received his Ph.D. from Yale, and is Senior Fellow to the United Nations Foundation, and University Professor at George Mason University. He served as president of The Heinz Center for Science, Economics and the Environment, and was the World Bank’s Chief Biodiversity Advisor and Lead Specialist for Environment for Latin America and the Caribbean and Senior Advisor to the President of the United Nations Foundation. Tom has been Assistant Secretary and Counselor to the Secretary at the Smithsonian Institution, Science Advisor to the Secretary of the Interior, and Executive Vice President of the World Wildlife Fund–U.S.
Tom conceived the idea for the Minimum Critical Size of Ecosystems project (a joint project between the Smithsonian and Brazil’s INPA), originated the concept of debt-for-nature swaps, and was the founding science advisor to the public television series Nature. He won the prestigious Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement in 2001. Tom served on science and environmental councils or committees under the Reagan, Bush, and Clinton administrations.
