Distinguished Ecologist Seminars
We invite ecologists from around the world to speak each year. In the Fall, we highlight the work of a GDPE alum and a faculty member, and in the Spring we bring in outside speakers. We define “distinguished” broadly as someone who has contributed important work to the discipline of ecology. Below you will find information about our upcoming seminars.
Locations for 2025-2026 TBA.
Fall 2025 Speakers
September 3rd, 2025
Danielle Johnston (Honored Alum) - host Cini Brown
Place-based ecology: local solutions to global problems
October 29th, 2025
Paul Ode (Resident Distinguished Ecologist) - host Melinda Smith
Elevation gradients and trophic (mis)matches
Spring 2026 Speakers
February 4th, 2026
Anna Trugman - host Anping Chen
Plant physiology, forest ecology, and carbon cycle uncertainty in a changing climate
Anna Trugman is an ecologist with a multidisciplinary background in the earth sciences. Her research interests are centered around understanding the Earth system consequences of plant physiological processes and ecological interactions, particularly in water limited systems and novel climate conditions expected with anthropogenic climate change. Anna received her bachelor’s degree from Stanford University in Geological and Environmental Sciences, her Ph.D. from Princeton University in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, and spent two years at the University of Utah in the Biology Department. She has been a Professor in the Department of Geography at UC Santa Barbara since 2019
March 4th, 2026
Sasha Reed - host Alan Knapp
Title TBD
Dr. Sasha Reed is an ecologist focused on understanding how our planet’s ecosystems work and what factors determine the services they provide. The study sites and methods Sasha uses are diverse, and with each of her projects she strives to provide scientific information that helps our nation address challenges, solve problems, and maximize opportunities. Sasha seeks to provide useful information for land managers, policy-makers, and the general public. Sasha uses both basic and applied scientific approaches to improve our understanding of the fundamental controls over ecosystems, to determine how these systems respond to change, and to explore solutions for addressing relevant problems. Sasha works closely with a range of collaborators – including federal agency partners (BLM, NPS, DOE, DoD, BIA, USFS, USFWS) – in designing research studies, conducting information and technology transfer, and performing outreach activities. Some of her primary research interests include understanding how drought and increasing temperatures affect ecosystems, exploring a diversity of energy options for meeting national demand, assessing the consequences of exotic plant invasion and ways to combat them, and establishing novel management options for increased effectiveness and efficiency in restoration and reclamation. Sasha attempts to conduct research that is innovative, collaborative, and useful.
April 8th, 2026
Chris Funk - host Ruth Hufbauer
A frog tale about a tailed frog: Why an evolutionary perspective matters for predicting sensitivity to increasing temperatures
Dr. Chris Funk is a Professor in the Department of Biology at Colorado State University and Director of the Global Biodiversity Center housed within the CSU School of Global Environmental Sustainability. He grew up in Oregon and completed the first half of his undergraduate degree at Reed College. He earned his B.A. at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, and Ph.D. at the University of Montana. He was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Texas Austin and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the USGS Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center in Corvallis. He has published 143 peer-reviewed papers and coauthored the third edition of Conservation and the Genomics of Populations, considered the authoritative text on the application of modern genomic approaches to conservation. Dr. Funk is deeply involved in biodiversity conservation and climate adaptation and resilience leadership, policy, service, and communication at the international and national levels. As one of 12 founding members of the international Coalition for Conservation Genomics, he works to improve genetic goals, targets, and indicators in the Convention on Biological Diversity Global Biodiversity Framework. He also regularly advises U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists and policy makers on how to incorporate and interpret advances in genomics into U.S. Endangered Species Act listing, delisting, and recovery decisions.