Sharon Collinge, CU Boulder environmental studies professor, will head nation’s largest ecological society
Sharon Collinge, Executive Director of the Earth Leadership Program, has recently been elected governing board President of the Ecological Society of America.
The Ecological Society of America (ESA) is the nation’s largest organization of professional ecologists. Collinge will serve as President for 2022-23.
Collinge is a professor of environmental studies at University of Colorado Boulder. She assumed the role of Executive Director for the Earth Leadership Program in February 2020. Formerly, Collinge was chief scientist and observatory director of the National Ecological Observatory Network, a program dedicated to providing ecologists with open and accessible data from across the United States.
Collinge’s decades-long interdisciplinary research and academic career have focused on human-environment interactions in both urban and wilderness settings, especially regarding habitat conservation and the protection of endangered species. Her lab at CU Boulder is currently conducting a large-scale experiment on vernal pool ecosystem restoration in California.
An ESA member for the past 30 years, Collinge previously served as Vice President of Public Affairs from 2011-2014.
As incoming President, she will ensure that ecologists across a variety of professional settings find support and opportunities within the Society. She is committed to anti-racism action and inclusivity within the Society, and hopes to enhance overall engagement among members.
About ESA
Founded in 1915 and with a current membership of over 9000, ESA’s mission is to “advance the science and practice of ecology and support ecologists throughout their careers”.
The Society’s main goals include: promoting communication among ecologists, raising public awareness of the importance of ecological science, increasing resource availability for ecological research, and fomenting cooperation between ecologists and policy-makers.