Ryan Valdez serves as Senior Director of Conservation Science for National Parks Conservation Association. He works to integrate multidisciplinary science into NPCA’s national and regional advocacy efforts to protect all 430+ US national park units.

Ryan leads conservation science with the belief that strong vision and collaboration are essential core values. As a convener and communicator between multi-departmental and regional units, Ryan enjoys bringing the right people together, empowering them, and celebrating their hard work and success. His aim is to identify, access, and deploy the best conservation science toward park advocacy goals by building multiple internal teams to promote and elevate science within NPCA.

Ryan’s professional and academic background is largely in managing biodiversity and landscape conservation programs with an emphasis on mapping and visualizing data and information. Working closely with research centers, community members, and stakeholders, he has managed various conservation projects in the Americas and East Africa. He has spent substantive time conducting field work with several endangered species and is a Certified Wildlife Biologist ®. He enjoyed a long tenure with the Smithsonian Institution’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute where he worked in a museum setting with high visitor engagement. It was here that he became inspired by the vital work that zoos, museums and research institutions do for global conservation, research science, and education. During that time, he directed the Smithsonian’s Amazon GIS Program, working with all eight nations of the Amazon basin through the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO). He subsequently taught several conservation courses at George Mason University during his dissertation and founded the Kenya Study Abroad Program – where he could share his enjoyment of in-situ conservation, field work, and applied conservation science. As an active STEM career and academic mentor, Ryan is fully committed to empowering and advising the next generation of conservation practitioners.

Ryan holds degrees in wildlife science and environmental conservation from Texas A&M University (BS), Yale University (MFS) and George Mason University (PhD). For more information, please visit ryanvaldez.com.

Maps by Ryan Valdez

Online Resources by Ryan Valdez

Resource The Art and Science of Camera Trapping | By Ryan Valdez, Ph.D. The rise of camera trapping has allowed a growing number of volunteers to make significant contributions to academic research. Here’s a look at the practice, how these devices are used, and ways to get your own glimpses at wildlife “selfies” and help with ongoing research.

Articles by Ryan Valdez, Ph.D.

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