Mary Ruckelshaus, Managing Director of The Natural Capital Project, Senior Research Associate at Stanford University, and recipient of the 2018 Howard Vollum Award for Distinguished Accomplishment in Science and Technology.

This talk will address how to conduct science to solve sustainability challenges by co-developing solutions with those who can act on them. Ruckelshaus will present examples of how a new generation of scientists is growing our understanding of coupled human and natural systems while also creating innovative ways to bolster a resilient future.

NatCap is a partnership among universities and NGOs that aims to transform decisions using the latest science of natural capital/ecosystem service values. Ruckelshaus previously led the Ecosystem Science Program at NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle, WA. Prior to that, she was an assistant professor of biological sciences at The Florida State University. The main focus of her recent work is on developing standard approaches for valuing nature and mainstreaming them into high-leverage decisions globally. Ruckelshaus serves on the Science Council of The Nature Conservancy and is past Chair of its Washington Board, has been a lead author and reviewer for the 2013 and 2017 US National Climate Assessments, and is a past chair of the Science Advisory Board of the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS). She was Chief Scientist for the Puget Sound Partnership, a public-private institution charged with achieving recovery of the Puget Sound terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems. Ruckelshaus has a bachelor’s degree in human biology from Stanford University, a master’s degree in fisheries from the University of Washington, and a doctoral degree in botany, also from Washington.

Free and open to the public.