The E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation is pleased to welcome Brooks Bonner as our new Program Director. In this key role, Brooks will collaborate with scientists, scholars, and communities working around the globe to advance biodiversity science. He’ll specifically focus on amplifying the reach and utilization of the Foundation’s Half-Earth Project Map and related products.
“Brooks’ 10-plus years of local and international management experience in biodiversity conservation, natural resource management, private conservation, protected areas policy, international education, philanthropy, nonprofit management, capacity building, and program monitoring/evaluation bring a fabulous collection of experiences to the work of the Half-Earth Project,” said Paula Ehrlich, E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation President & CEO.
“E.O. Wilson played a vital role in my career path. From the moment I read his book, “The Future of Life,” as a young college student, he has guided my career in international biodiversity conservation. I look forward to continuing on this path with the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation,” said Brooks.
Prior to joining the Foundation, Brooks worked as the Director of Community Engagement for the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS), an organization that E.O. Wilson helped found. In this role, he led the processes to develop and implement strategies for effectively engaging three stakeholder groups– Science Pioneers, Science Participants, and Science Stewards–at local, national, and global scales. At OTS, he also led the management of undergraduate, field-based study abroad programs in Costa Rica and South Africa, and helped to streamline management of Faculty-Led Academic Groups. His role included staying current on emerging trends in conservation and climate change mitigation strategies to offer impactful educational opportunities. Brooks also previously worked with Nature & Culture International in the Peruvian Amazon region of Loreto, contributing to the first co-managed regional conservation network established in Peru.
“Brooks is passionate about developing community-based programs that engage with local stakeholders to support positive change in our world,” Paula adds. “I’m thrilled about the opportunities for impact that we’ll have through Brooks’ leadership.”
Brooks has a MA in International Environmental Policy from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, and is a graduate of San Francisco State University, where he pursued a B.A. in Intercultural Speech Communication. He speaks English, Spanish, and has a basic level of Portuguese.
Brooks is originally from Seattle, WA but currently resides in Durham, NC and enjoys playing soccer, mountain biking, hiking (with his Siberian Husky, Tahoma), and volunteering with a local native plant nursery.
