ICCB 2023 Steering Committee
The ICCB 2023 Steering Committee works in coordination with SCB Global Services in the organization and planning ICCB.
The Steering Committee includes scientists and SCB staff who work together to identify ICCB priorities, coordinate the work of ICCB subcommittees, and ensure that ICCB meets the goals established for SCB conferences.
The Committee also provides insights related to the ICCB budget, works to ensure that ICCB is a safe, inclusive, diverse and equitable congress, assesses and works to minimize risk, and supports fundraising efforts and the identification of Congress partners.
The Committee is led by a chair, two co-chairs, and a vice-chair. At-large members include the president of the Africa Section, the chair of the ICCB Scientific Program Committee, the chairs of the ICCB Local Organizing Committee, and the chair of the ICCB Equity, Inclusion and Diversity Committee.
Meet the ICCB 2023 Steering Committee
Clockwise: Badru Mugerwa, John Cigliano, Israel Borokini, Tsitsi McPherson, Felix Ndagijimana, and Nate Spillman.
Badru Mugerwa
I am a Ugandan conservationist, and a PhD candidate at the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin, Germany. I hold a BSc in Forestry, two MSc in Biology and a PgD in International Wildlife Conservation Practice. I am the President for the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB)’s Africa Section. I am a founder of Embaka- Saving African Golden Cats, a local community based conservation NGO working with local communities to stop poaching in Uganda.
Fun fact: I am the only Ugandan vegetarian I know!
Israel Borokini
David H Smith Conservation Research Fellow and Postdoctoral Scholar, University of California Berkeley, and starting as an Assistant Professor, Department of Ecology, Montana State University, Bozeman MT.
I use geospatial, phylogenetic, functional traits, and ecological data to elucidate the patterns and processes of biodiversity in time and space, and their conservation implications. To test hypotheses in ecology and biogeography, I work in different biomes, including tropical, temperate, cold deserts, and Mediterranean systems, and with plants of various spatial distributions, ranging from narrow endemics to cosmopolitan and invasive species. I have served in different leadership platforms for the SCB, including President of SCB Africa Section (2019-2022). SCB Africa section is excited to host the 30th and 31st ICCB! Karibu Afrika! Murakaza neza mu Rwanda!
John A. Cigliano
Professor of Biology and Director of Environmental Conservation at Cedar Crest College (USA), adjunct research faculty at Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park (USA), and an Earthwatch Institute Principal Investigator
My background is in behavioral ecology, marine conservation ecology, and marine conservation education and my current research interests include the effects of ocean acidification and warming on temperate rocky intertidal organisms and communities and the effects of captivity on the behavior of zoo animals. I am currently the President of the Participatory and Citizen Science Working group of SCB and Past President of the Marine Section of SCB. This is the fourth ICCB that I have helped organize as chair or co-chair and I have helped organize four International Marine Conservation Congresses for the Marine Section.
Nate Spillman
Nate Spillman is SCB's Communications and Membership Director and the staff liaison to the Society's Conference Committee. He has worked for SCB for nearly ten years and helped plan four of the last five ICCBs.
Tsitsi McPherson
Tsitsi chairs SCB's Equity, Inclusion and Diversity Committee and is the president-elect of the Society's Latin America and Caribbean Section.
Felix Ndagijimana
Director at Karisoke Research Center/Fossey Fund