🌟 Presented by Advancing Mentoring and the Professoriate for Inclusive Excellence

The Office of Advancing Mentoring and the Professoriate presents Engagement & Research Seminar Series

Biodiversity in Flux: Extreme Weather, Human Histories, and New Frontiers of Conservation Science

Diego Ellis Soto, Ph.D.

David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellow, University of California Berkeley; Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California Berkeley

Diego Ellis Soto's research sits at the intersection of global change biology, movement ecology, conservation biology, social–ecological systems, and environmental data science. He has developed ecological forecasting and data-driven approaches to understand and predict how biodiversity responds to extreme events — from COVID-19 lockdowns to heatwaves. He also integrate social and economic dimensions into models of biodiversity change.

Ellis Soto's work spans scales from individual animals tracked with GPS technologies to large, aggregated biodiversity datasets used to analyze macroecological patterns. His conservation research is grounded in long-term fieldwork in the Galápagos Islands and increasingly extends to urban systems, where he studies how cities can support biodiversity while reconnecting people with nature and informing policy.

Lunch served starting at 11:30am, research talk with Q&A from 12:00 - 1:00pm.
Everyone interested is welcome.

About

Ellis Soto earned his Ph.D. from Yale University with support from a NASA Future Investigator Award. His work on environmental justice, education, and biodiversity — and its role in shaping public discourse and federal policy — was recognized with the Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Public Scholar Award in 2023. He is currently a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow and David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellow, working at UC Berkeley and the California Academy of Sciences. He is a co-author on the equity and conservation chapters of the National Nature Assessment and contribute to statewide efforts such as the Thriving California Initiative through biodiversity-centered design and planning. He has also developed environmental education programs and biodiversity-focused curriculum for K–12 learners across the country.

Future Seminar Series Presentations:

DEBORAH SOUTHERN

Postdoctoral Scholar, School of Education and Information Studies, University of California, Los Angeles
April 29 • 12:00pm • Student Community Center, Room D
More information soon.

OLUMAKINDE ADESIJIBOMI OGUNNAIKE

Postdoctoral Scholar, Physics, University of California, Berkeley
May 27 • 12:00pm • Student Community Center, Room D
More information soon.