Hi folks, come hear our next IAS Seminar Speaker in our Sustainability Series. Dr. Ursula Valdez from UWT's Environmental Program will present "Community-Based Conservation in Tropical Ecosystems: Examples from Peru and Panama." Wed, Nov 16, 12:30-1:30pm in JOY 117 (open to the public) A tropical biologist, ornithologist and conservationist, Ursula obtained a Biology degree from the Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina in Peru and a Master's Degree in Zoology and Animal Behavior from North Carolina State University. Recently, she finished her PhD at the University of Washington studying Forest-falcon ecology in the Peruvian Amazon. Currently, she is a lecturer at the Biology Department at UW where she teaches Conservation Biology, Ornithology and tropical biology. Ursula is a passionate field biologist who has conducted ecological and ornithological work in Peru, as well as in Ecuador, Panama, USA and Spain. She worked in Peru and Panama as a raptor biologist and was the Director of the Neotropical Environmental Education Program of The Peregrine Fund. She has been an instructor in tropical ecology courses in Peru and Costa Rica. She has also run field courses in ornithology for Latin American students and field biology and conservation courses for UW undergraduate students. Ursula started a conservation center in Peru (www.ceccot.org) dedicated to raise awareness among local communities of the importance of the rainforest ecology and conservation but integrated in the local human context. At the center she and her colleagues conduct research on birds and other taxonomical groups, work on public outreach and offer training in sustainable living. She is a committed conservationist and active in finding ways to lower humans’ ecological footprint. Cheers, Jim James E. Gawel, Ph.D. Assoc. Prof. of Environmental Chemistry and Engineering Environmental Sciences Program Coordinator University of Washington - Tacoma 1900 Commerce St. Campus Box 358436 Tacoma, WA 98402 Phone: 253-692-5815 E-mail: jimgawel@u.washington.edu URL: http://www.tacoma.washington.edu/environmentalprogram