Background

I had a turbulent childhood, but when I needed to most, I was able to escape into nature. I don’t know where I would have wound up if I hadn’t been able to spend time when I needed to alone in the woods and the fields around our farm. There are many reasons I’m passionate about conservation, but if I had to boil it down to one driving factor, it would be that I want everyone to be able to find the type of peace and meaning in nature that I did at a time when I needed it badly. And this means making sure that natural spaces persist and that access to such spaces is available to those who want and need it.

I was a non-traditional college student and tried a few different schools and a few different majors before dropping out of college and doing odd jobs for a few years. When I was 24, I went back to college to pursue a degree in wildlife management and was able to participate in a ground-breaking program at the University of Arizona designed to help underrepresented students move forward into successful careers as wildlife and fisheries managers and ecologists. The DDCSP Collaborative was my chance to give back to the field by providing students with the experiences and opportunities necessary to become leaders in the field of conservation and to help ensure that the field is more just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive in the future.

I believe that to be a good conservation leader, it is important to be as compassionate toward people as you are passionate about protecting nature. I believe that change can only happen when people’s hearts are engaged, so a good conservation leader is someone who can touch people’s hearts and inspire them with a positive vision for change. This is the ethic that has driven the program.

On the web: https://ddcsp-collaborative.org/director

email: rena@ddcsp-collaborative.or