Dr. Rachel Golden Kroner comes to Tucson
Hear from the students who met Dr. Golden Kroner and talked all things biodiversity.
Phoebe Meixner
We were incredibly honored to welcome Dr. Rachel E. Golden Kroner from the World Wildlife Fund to the University of Arizona this semester! Dr. Golden Kroner’s seminar, "Transforming to a Nature and People Positive Future," applied lessons from the life of “the godfather of biodiversity,” Thomas Lovejoy, to the future of biodiversity conservation. Two of the Lovejoy Center’s student workers attended the seminar, here is what they had to say:
Arif said…
Dr. Rachel Golden Kroner's visit to campus was one of those talks that helped support how I think about the work we're doing at the Lovejoy Center. Her seminar, "Transforming to a Nature and People Positive Future," connected the legacy of Tom Lovejoy, who advised her PhD and is the center's namesake, to the current push for systemic change in how we approach biodiversity conservation. What stood out to me was her focus on optimism, but not naive optimism, as a continued conservation action grounded in the belief that something better is actually possible. Coming from someone who has worked across government (as an AAAS fellow at USAID), international policy (with IUCN and IPBES), NGOs like Conservation International and Oceana, and now leads Nature Positive for Oceans at WWF, that felt like a message earned through experience…
She also pushed the audience to think beyond incremental policy fixes and toward what genuine transformative change looks like, the kind that requires rethinking economic systems, governance structures, and the values that underpin them. For students like me who spend most of our time tracking specific bills or writing policy briefs on particular issues, it was a useful reminder that the individual policy fights we follow are symptoms of larger structural questions. The Q&A afterward also helped carry that energy into more specific territory.
Jacob says…
One of my favorite parts of Dr. Golden Kroner’s visit to campus was seeing fellow students who are passionate about the future of biodiversity conservation. It was awe-inspiring that such a group was able to attend the seminar, despite having busy schedules on and off campus. I think this speaks greatly to the renown of Dr. Golden Kroner’s work, as listening made me feel even more excited about doing everything in my power to safeguard the natural systems that are vital to humans and nature alike.
Dr. Golden Kroner championed a multi-disciplinary approach to conservation. Defending the health of ecosystems on such a large scale demands that we think deeply about not only the symptoms of biodiversity loss, but the root causes as well. Coupled with brilliant lessons from Thomas Lovejoy, the presentation broke down barriers between perspectives as to why nature is important. The seminar was a good reminder that protecting nature takes all of us, and that we need to keep working hard to synthesize perspectives on how to increase environmental resilience.
Thank you, Dr. Golden Kroner, for inspiring our students and faculty alike. We’re already looking forward to your next visit!