Gail Morris

Isabel Ramírez is a Senior Researcher at the Center for Research in Environmental Geography (CIGA) of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). She has a bachelor’s degree in Geography from the University of Guadalajara and a PhD in Geography from the Complutense University of Madrid (Spain). She completed her training at the Colegio de México (COLMEX) as part of the International LEAD Program (Leadership for Environment and Development).

Throughout her academic training and professional experience, she has worked on various issues that converge or start from land use (Land System Science). She has published papers on landscape ecology, vegetation dynamics and land use, conservation and community management of forests, forest governance and policy, and environmental history. Most of her research work, student training, and collaboration with national and international colleagues focus on environmental conservation and rural development of the monarch butterfly region in Mexico.

She has received several awards, among which the National University Distinction for Young Academics (UNAM 2009), and  the Pollinator Advocate Award for Mexico (NAPPC 2011) stand out. She is a member of the board of directors of the Monarch Butterfly Fund since 2009.

Chip Taylor Orley R. “Chip” Taylor, Founder and Director of Monarch Watch; Professor Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS.

Trained as an insect ecologist, Chip Taylor has published papers on species assemblages, hybridization, reproductive biology, population dynamics and plant demographics and pollination. Starting in 1974, Chip Taylor established research sites and directed students studying Neotropical African honey bees (killer bees) in French Guiana, Venezuela, and Mexico. In 1992, as the bee research was coming to an end, Taylor founded Monarch Watch, an outreach program focused on education, research and conservation relative to monarch butterflies. Through the last 18 years Monarch Watch has enlisted the help of volunteers to tag monarchs during the fall migration. This program has produced many new insights into the dynamics of the monarch migration. Four years ago, in recognition that habitats for monarchs are declining at a rate of 6000 acres a day in the United States, Monarch Watch created the Monarch Waystation program. The goal of this program is to inspire the public, schools and others to create habitats for monarch butterflies and to assist Monarch Watch in educating the public about the decline in resources for monarchs, pollinators and all wildlife that share the same habitats.

Position: Managing Director Field Programs, CCSOrganization: Center for Conservation and Sustainability, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park

Dr. Alfonso Alonso is a research scientist at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. He is very interested in developing and implementing monitoring programs to ensure the persistence of plants and animals in different ecosystems. He has conducted studies on the monarch butterfly for almost 30 years.

Eli Moreno has worked with community based non-profits for the last 20 years and is committed to the improvement of science education and the protection of the environment in the developing world. He has also been involved with several humanitarian relief efforts in the aftermath of natural disasters in third world countries.

Eli was born in Mexico in the state of Michoacan, home to the Monarch butterfly’s winter sanctuary. He is a relentless entrepreneur and is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Premier Residential, a Washington State based company specializing in property investments, acquisitions & management.

Eli’s professional education include Universidad de Las Americas, The University of Pittsburgh and The Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is also a former Advisory Committee Member of the National Multi Housing Council based in Washington DC.