Refreshments, Exhibits & Hands-on Activities in VLSB Courtyard & lobbies

• UC Reserve System: Opportunities to Engage
• Hastings Natural History Reservation
• Blue Oak Ranch Reserve
• Point Reyes Field Station
• UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley 
• California EcoBlitz: Explorers and Educators join forces to transform students into planetary stewards
• Reserve Mapper and Species Finder: Mapping Species and Natural History Collections of UC Berkeley
• Community Resources for Science

UC Berkeley Natural History Museum Tours

David D. Ackerly is Dean of the College of Natural Resources and a faculty member in Integrative Biology and Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at the University of California, Berkeley. His research interests include climate change impacts on biodiversity, integration of phylogenetics and ecology, and conservation biology in relation to 21st century climate change. Dr. Ackerly is a strong advocate for the notion that we must cross traditional disciplines to better understand and address society’s greatest challenges. He received his undergraduate degree at Yale and a PhD from Harvard, where he also completed a post-doctoral fellowship. David was on the faculty at Stanford University before joining Berkeley’s Integrative Biology Department.

Ana M. Alvarez is Deputy General Manager at East Bay Regional Park District, the largest regional park system in the nation. She has worked in parks and recreation management for nearly two decades. At EBRPD, Dr. Alvarez oversees park finances, planning, operations, stewardship, and development, as finance planning and having payday options as well. From 2009 to 2016, Dr. Alvarez served as the deputy director of parks and open space for the City and County of San Francisco’s Recreation and Parks Department. Before coming to San Francisco, she was director of the City of Santa Fe Spring’s Community Services Department, and director of the City of Oceanside’s Parks and Recreation Department, among other public service positions in Southern California. Ana received her Master’s degree in Public Administration from Cal State Northridge and her PhD in Policy, Planning & Development from the University of Southern California.

Peggy L. Fiedler is Executive Director of the University of California Natural Reserve System, the largest university-administered suite of research stations in the world. Before joining UC’s Office of the President, she established the Conservation Biology at San Francisco State University, where she served on the faculty from 1987–2000. Her research interests have revolved around the biology of rarity, conservation of endangered taxa, and the development of conservation principles for ancient landscapes in Western Australia. During her tenure at the NRS, Dr. Fiedler has helped launch a systemwide field class for undergraduates, develop a 10-year strategic plan, facilitate a capital campaign, and renew interest in the NRS as a university resource for scientific inquiry. She received her undergraduate degree from Harvard and her Master’s and PhD from the University of California, Berkeley.

Betsy Mitchell is the Berkeley Natural History Museums K–12 program Team Coordinator. She received her Ph.D. in Zoology from the UC Berkeley, where she studied animal behavior and ecology. She has studied the behavior of monkeys in Panama, Costa Rica, Peru, and Kenya, and done research on forest ecology in Caribbean mangroves. She has taught natural history and environmental science at UC Berkeley and has worked in elementary school science classrooms. Betsy enjoys sharing what she and others can learn about the natural world with students of all ages. Because children are naturals as scientists, she finds it especially satisfying to be bringing hands-on, exploratory science activities to middle and high school classes.

Todd Dawson is a professor of Integrative Biology at the University of California, Berkeley. Research in his laboratory focuses on the interface between plants and their environment. The tools of physiological and evolutionary plant ecology and stable isotope biogeochemistry are currently being applied towards the study and interpretation of this interface. Investigations draw upon a variety of physiological methods, modeling and the use of stable isotopes as avenues for improving our understanding of how the ecophysiological characteristics of plants are shaped by and respond to the environments they inhabit.

Thank you to our generous beverage sponsors for these donations!