Join a special mixer and conference celebrating diversity and the need for inclusion in the conservation sciences of the desert.

Leading conservationists and rising biologists will share the stage in this event at the UC Riverside Campus Alumni and Visitors Center Dining Room from 3-7pm. RSVPs are required.

Learn how the Mojave Desert Land Trust’s pioneering WISDOM internship is helping make desert science more inclusive and accessible. Discuss ways in which we can address inequalities in desert conservation field work. This event takes place on the occasion of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, in honor of the fifth anniversary of the WISDOM program. This event is open to the public, but spaces are limited. RSVP to reserve your spot. Light refreshments will be served.

Speakers:

Kelly Herbinson, Joint Executive Director, Mojave Desert Land Trust

Mary Cook-Rhyne, Education Programs Manager, Mojave Desert Land Trust

Miranda Buckley, PhD student, UC Riverside, and former WISDOM intern

Roseanna Colston, Biologist, and former WISDOM intern

Maricela Rosales, California Associate Program Director, Conservation Lands Foundation

Lehong Chow, Principal, Ironwood Consulting

About the speakers:

Maricela Rosales (pronoun: she, her, ella) is from Los Angeles, CA, dedicated to advocating for diversity in outdoor recreation, equity, and access to public lands, while changing the ethos of conservation as the CA Program Associate Director for Conservation Lands Foundation. Her goal is to move towards cultural and social relevance as a framework to empower, organize, and support partners, colleagues, and the community. A graduate of the University of California, Riverside with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology/Law and Society. She has served as a Youth Climbing Coach for Touchstone Climbing and the Community Advocacy Program Coordinator for the Disability Rights Legal Center. Was previously the Los Angeles Regional, Brands Partnership, and Advocacy Coordinator for Latino Outdoors.

Miranda Buckley is a PhD student at UC Riverside, in the Santiago Lab, where she studies the evolution and ecology of holoparasitic plants in the deserts of California. Miranda was a WISDOM intern with MDLT in 2020, when she helped collect and analyze ecological data in Afton Canyon, within the Mojave Trails National Monument. This experience empowered her to pursue research in academia after she completed her B.S. in Plant Science at Cal Poly Pomona in 2021. Having lived in the Mojave her entire life, watching it change before her eyes, Miranda wanted to do her part to help conserve and restore our precious desert, and foster a feeling of connection to the desert landscape within her local community. She is proud to be a transfer student from Victor Valley College and hopes to use the skills she is learning in graduate school to research vulnerable desert ecosystems in Southern California, communicate the importance of conservation to my community, and bridge the gap to careers in STEM for the next generation of scientists.

Mary Cook-Rhyne is the Education Programs Manager at the Mojave Desert Land Trust and is the project manager for the WISDOM program. She is passionate about desert conservation and making it accessible to all. She supports women in STEM especially those traditionally left out of the sciences. Her goal is to make the WISDOM program a meaningful internship and provide women with the opportunities to make a real impact in desert lands management. Mary holds a B.A. in Anthropology with a focus on archaeology from CSU, Chico, and an M.Ed. in Elementary Education with a focus on multicultural education from the University of Nevada, Reno.

Lehong Chow began working as a field biologist for Ironwood Consulting in 2008, one year after a two-year Peace Corps commitment in Togo. Today, she is a Principal of the company. In the years between, she consulted for environmental firms large and small, working with multiple special status species. She has a good understanding of field needs because it was an important part of her professional experience and uses that experience to identify potential problems before they occur. Lehong leads a focused and committed staff dedicated to striking the right balance between client needs, regulator expectations, and protecting natural resources. Communication is as important to her as finding creative solutions that will meet those criteria. During her downtime, she enjoys sampling and attempting to cook world cuisines.

Roseanna Colston is a former WISDOM Intern and Alumni of UC Riverside. During her time at UC Riverside, Roseanna developed a deep interest in soil science while taking classes in Environmental Science and became later became a founding member of the Soil Science Club. After completing her bachelors program, she went on to volunteer at the Mojave Desert Land Trust and eventually become an intern for WISDOM program. She then was offered the opportunity to work on the Amargosa River Vole Survey with UC Davis. Roseanna currently works as Registered Environmental Health Specialist in San Diego County and hopes to return to the field of conservation and land management.

MDLT will be closed in observance of the holiday.

MDLT will be closed in observance of the holiday.

Join us for an in-person event at the Mojave Desert Land Trust (MDLT) headquarters located in Joshua Tree, CA, USA. At this forum, we will discuss Joshua Tree National Park visitation and the impact it has on the park, local natural resources, community life, and other issues. This will be just the first of what we hope will be a series of community discussions helping the Morongo Basin chart a path forward as visitation remakes our communities. RSVP is required. Register here.

For more information, email: cclarke@npca.org

This forum is sponsored by:

• National Parks Conservation Association

• 90 Miles from Needles, the Desert Protection Podcast

• Mojave Desert Land Trust

• others to be added!

MDLT will be closed in observance of the holiday.

MDLT will be closed in observance of the holiday.

MDLT will be closed in observance of the holiday.