
Meena Balgopal
Professor, Department of Biology

Veronica Yovovich
Assistant Professor, Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology; CSU Extension

Bastian Thomsen
Assistant Professor, Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources
CHCC STUDENTS

Martha Bierut
PhD Student, Graduate Degree Program in Ecology
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Cassiopeia Camara
PhD student, Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources, advised by Dr. Rebecca Niemiec
Project: Analysis of outreach and messaging strategies regarding wolf reintroduction in Colorado.

Andie Conlon
MS student, Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources, advised by Dr. Jon Salerno.
Project: The role of community-based conservation in promoting human-carnivore coexistence in East Africa
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Mireille Gonzalez
PhD student, Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources, advised by Dr. Rebecca Niemiec
Project: Public and stakeholder attitudes towards wolf conservation and potential reintroduction in Colorado

Tom Hilton
PhD student, Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources, advised by Dr. Jon Salerno
Project: Systems impacts of human-wildlife interactions - modeling multilevel economies from households to nation states

Matt Hyde
PhD student, Graduate Degree Program Ecology, advised by Dr. Stewart Breck and Dr. Kevin Crooks
Project: Conflict prevention between ranchers and predators in the Rocky Mountain West

Monica Lasky
M.S. Student, Graduate Degree Program of Ecology, advised by Dr. Sara Bombaci
Project: How human presence alters carnivore-prey interactions in South African food webs.
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Tamara Layden
M.S. Student, Graduate Degree Program of Ecology, advised by Dr. Sara Bombaci
Project: The role of community-based land stewardship in shaping carnivore conservation in the tropics of Guatemala
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Cori Persinger
M.A. student, Department of Philosophy, advised by Dr. Katie McShane and Dr. Ken Shockley
Projects: A Critique of Animals Rights Theory from Northern Indigenous Hunting Ethics; Hunting and Environmental Values; Epistemic Injustice and U.S. Wildfire Policy

Kelly Russo
M.S. Student, Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, advised by Dr. George Wittemyer.
Project: Impacts of scavengers on Chronic Wasting Disease spread

Cassandre Venumière-Lefebvre
PhD Student, Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, advised by Dr. Kevin Crooks and Dr. Stewart Breck.
Project: Understanding tolerance of humans towards carnivores, focused on human-bear coexistence
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Erin Weingarten
PhD Student, Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, advised by Dr. George Wittemyer.
Project: Incorporating behavioral observations and machine learning to mitigate human-elephant conflict in Kenya.
CHCC RESEARCHERS AND ASSOCIATES

Ben Ghasemi
Postdoctoral Fellow and CHCC Project Manager, Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources, advised by Dr. Rebecca Niemiec.
Project: Conservation social science and human-carnivore coexistence in the Western U.S.
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Redae Tesfai
PhD, Research Associate, Natural Resource Ecology Lab, supervisor Dr. Paul Evangelista
Project: Illegal cheetah trafficking
Patricia Tricorache
Research Assistant, Natural Resource Ecology Lab, supervisor Dr. Paul Evangelista
Project: Illegal cheetah trafficking
Mark Ditmer
CHCC Associate
USFS Research Ecologist, Rocky Mountain Research Station, USFS.
Spatial modelling of carnivore habitat suitability and conflict hotspots
Anthony Giordano
CHCC Associate
Chief Conservation Science Officer, S.P.E.C.I.E.S.
S.P.E.C.I.E.S is an international NGO committed to the development and implementation of holistic, integrative, and impactful projects and activities to further the conservation of the world’s carnivores.
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CHCC ALUMNI

Matt Collins
MA student, Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources, advised by Dr. Rebecca Niemiec
Project: Cultural, interpersonal, and incentive-based factors that motivate ranchers to employ preventative and non-lethal predator control

Brielle Manzolillo
PhD student, Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship, advised by Dr. Courtney Schultz
Project: Political challenges and pathways for success in Colorado wolf reintroduction

Rae Nickerson
MS Student, Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, advised by Drs. Stewart Breck and Dr. Paul Evangelista
Project: Identifying the psycho-social and socioecological factors influencing landowner reporting behavior of wolf-livestock depredations, and exploring the connections between depredation reporting and compensation policies
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Richard Berl
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources, advised by Dr. Rebecca Niemiec
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Mark Ditmer
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, advised by Dr. Kevin Crooks and Dr. George Wittemyer
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