Welcome to the SCBNA Blog!
This site provides news on the activities of the Society for Conservation Biology’s North America Section (SCBNA).
SCBNA and its 3,000 members work to advance conservation science and practice in North America.
NACCB2018, the next SCBNA biennial conference, will be held in Toronto, Ontario, July 21-26, 2018.
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Announcing New Members for SCB North America Board
2022 SCB North America Board Election
The North America Section of the Society for Conservation Biology is excited to announce the start of its 2022 Board Election! The election will open on May 4th and end on Monday, June 6th.
SCB North America Section members will vote to fill five seats on the Board: Equity, Inclusion, and Equity Officer; Vice President for Education & Chapters; Chapters Representative; Student Representative; and Member-at-Large.
Not a member?
Learn more about the 2022 SCBNA Board candidates:
Equity, Inclusion & Diversity Officer
Vice President for Education & Chapters
Chapters Representative
Student Representative
Member at Large
NACCB 2022 Registration: OPEN
NACCB 2022 Registration is OPEN
+ Late Breaking Call for Abstracts – opening March 29 thru April 19!
Did you miss the first Call for Abstracts, but would still like to present at NACCB 2022? We’re opening a late-breaking Call for Abstracts and especially encourage speed and poster presentation submissions!
Review the criteria for selection for abstracts here on the full website.
Join the SCB North America Board: Nominations are Open!
Make a positive difference in conservation and give back to our community. Nominate yourself or someone else to serve on the Society for Conservation Biology North America (SCBNA) Board of Directors.
We are inviting you to help us nominate SCB North America members (or yourself) to stand for election! We are especially interested in increasing equity and inclusion at all levels, including on the board, and encourage nominations of individuals from historically underrepresented groups. Each nominee must be a current member of SCBNA and demonstrate relevant skills and experience to the position being covered. After reviewing nominees, the SCBNA Nominations Committee will put forward the slate of candidates for each office and announce the start of the voting period.
The call for nominations is open now through April 11, 2022. See the attached Board Code of Conduct and the SCBNA Bylaws for position descriptions and expectations of board members, and refer to the SCBNA website for further information on the North America section and its activities. Please contact Megan Keville, megan.keville@scbnorthamerica.org with additional questions regarding these positions.
Nominations are open for:
Every board member attends one in-person meeting (some financial support may be possible) and 4-5 virtual SCBNA Board meetings per year plus performs committee work (e.g., meetings, writing).
Submit a Nomination
To submit a nomination please fill out the this Google Form for yourself or whoever you are nominating. We wish you the best of luck and hope you will take the courageous step to support the SCB North America section!
If you have any questions about the nomination process, please email us: mail@scbnorthamerica.org
NACCB Abstract & Proposal Deadline Extension
You’re in luck!
A little groundhog wants to let you know that… We are extending our Abstract and Proposal deadline to February 18th (11:59pm PT) for the 2022 North American Congress for Conservation Biology (NACCB). Congrats if you’ve already submitted an abstract or proposal for NACCB 2022! However, we know that many could use a little extra time.
Contributing your ideas to #NACCB2022 can allow others to learn from you, broaden your networking circle, and also give you professional experience sharing your research. In addition, opportunities to explore our host city (Reno, Nevada) will be options for those interested!
Visit the Call for Abstracts page for criteria & requirements, and to submit your abstract.
Visit the Call for Proposals page for criteria & requirements, and to submit your session proposal.
We hope to see your submissions soon!
SCB North America Service Information Session
Join us on January 25th!
On this date, we will hold an Information Session for anyone interested to learn more about board and committee service with SCB North America!
Current board and committee members will discuss their experience, describe specific roles and committee priorities, and address any questions and concerns you might have.
If you’re on the fence about running for a board position or joining a committee, this is a welcoming and open forum to learn more with no commitments required!
A zoom registration link and time of the meeting will be published soon for your convenience.
We hope to see you there!
NACCB 2022 Submissions Now Open
The NACCB 2022 Abstract and Bonus Proposal Submissions are now OPEN!
That’s right, we’re opening a bonus Call for Proposals for Workshops, Short courses, Symposia and Interactive sessions (plus a new Organized Networking Session!).
This new session gives you the opportunity to create a networking session open to all conference attendees! These sessions can be tailored to students, LGBTQA+ members, conservation disciplines, and endless other topics/target participants ⭐️
The submission deadline for both abstracts and proposals is February 4, 2022. If you didn’t get to submit a proposal in the Fall, you have another chance to do so this Winter.
We invite you to submit to share your ideas, research, and/or work!
You’ve got this 👏
Learn how to submit yours for NACCB 2022 here: http://ow.ly/FcBf50H8saO
Organized Networking Session Proposal information: http://ow.ly/z64150HaIAI
Introducing SCBNA’s New Communications Intern and Conference Assistant, Jules Duran!
We would like to extend a warm welcome to the new SCBNA Communications Intern and Conference Assistant, Jules Duran!
Jules is currently applying to graduate programs focused on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice in Environmental Conservation. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Conservation from Virginia Tech and is from Washington, D.C. She also has a background in wildlife field biology and social media analytics.
We are very excited to have her helping with SCBNA communications and #NACCB2022!
Latinx in Conservation – Miriam Hernandez
To celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15-October 15), we are taking the opportunity to highlight Latinx leaders working in conservation who inspire us!
Today we get to learn about Miriam Hernandez! We asked her about her career and her experiences as a Latina working in conservation.
Thank you again to the SCBNA team for featuring me in the Hispanic Heritage month profile! It’s an honor to be highlighted. I am the Finance Manager on the Society for Conservation Biology Global Services team and assist with finances and administrative operations of the Society. I am proud to be a Hispanic woman working for the Society and among many colleagues that care about conservation, protecting our planet and its flora and fauna and disseminating conservation practices around the world.
The Latinx community is vast and diverse with passionate people connected and committed to the protection and well-being of our Earth. To be a part of this community means to protect what we cherish and look out for one another. From my upbringing, I was taught that Earth provides everything we need to survive: food, shelter, water. Earth provides life so it is my, and our, purpose to take care of it, to be stewards of the Earth. I love being part of an organization that strives to make a difference in the world whatever way it can and cares about connecting scientists, students and professionals from all countries, backgrounds, beliefs. Everything from ICCBs and webinars to programs and journals, SCB aims to provide as many resources as possible for members. Knowing that I am a piece of the puzzle working to advance conservation efforts makes me feel proud and happy and I hope to be an example to others around me.
Thank you so much to Miriam for sharing with us!
Check out our profiles of other Latinx leaders in conservation who were generous enough to share their stories with us: Mayor Regina Romero, Mirna Manteca, and Sergio Avila.
Latinx in Conservation – Sergio Avila
To celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15-October 15), we are taking the opportunity to highlight Latinx leaders working in conservation who inspire us!
Today we are featuring Sergio Avila! We asked him to share about his career path and his experiences as a person of color working in conservation.
Sergio was born in Mexico City (1972) and grew up in Zacatecas, Mexico. He’s an immigrant to the United States, living in Tohono O’odham and Yaqui lands, known as Tucson, Arizona. He was first hired by the University of Arizona in 2004, and became a U.S. Citizen in 2016. Sergio is a husband, son, brother, uncle and cousin; a trail runner; and an outspoken justice and equity advocate.
Sergio holds a Master’s degree (Arid Ecosystems Management & Wildlife Research) from University of Baja California; and a Bachelor’s in Biology (University of Aguascalientes), both in Mexico. For twenty-five years, Sergio has worked on regional conservation efforts along the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. His varied experience includes living with the Indigenous Tarahumara of the Sierra Madre (1998), and ranching communities of Sonora (2003), which transformed his vision of environmental stewardship and conservation. Avila tracked and studied borderland jaguars and ocelots in the southwest United States and northwest Mexico for 10 years. Two live encounters with jaguars in the mountains of Sonora were life-changing experiences that shaped Sergio’s personal and professional life. He has led efforts to protect Monarch butterflies’ migration, studied Cactus-ferruginous pygmy-owls in the Sonoran Desert, and mountain lion predation on bighorn sheep in Baja California.
Throughout his career, Sergio has felt invisible, alone, and not represented in the environmental and conservation communities as a person of color, feeling forced to ‘code switch’ and ‘fit in’ in spaces, instead of feeling true belonging. While studying borderland jaguars and monitoring the impacts of border wall construction, Avila became directly aware of U.S. immigration policies and enforcement. Continued racial profiling, harrassement and threats by the U.S. Border Patrol caused Avila to stop jaguar research along the borderlands. Due to personal and professional events like those described above, Sergio left conservation science and now works with the Sierra Club as an advocate for equitable and inclusive outings programs that allow underrepresented communities to enjoy and protect Nature, elevate Traditional Ecological Knowledge, and shine a light to broader engagement opportunities than the typical scientific or recreational interests of the dominating white conservation movement.
Sergio admires Arizona Congressman and Chair of the Natural Resources Committee in U.S. Congress, Raul Grijalva. An inspiring leader, decision-maker and representative who demonstrates that conservation and care for the environment does not require an academic degree, diplomas or publications.
Thank you so much to Sergio for sharing his experiences with us. You can keep up with him by following him on Instagram.
Stay tuned to hear from more Latinx leaders in conservation this month! In case you missed it, check out our last highlights of Mayor Regina Romero and Mirna Manteca.