Dr. Rodrigo Medellín works on conservation of mammals with emphasis on applied and policy-driven science, as a Senior Professor at the Institute of Ecology, UNAM. He is an established leader in the field of mammal conservation, and was President of the Society for Conservation Biology (2013-2015) and CoChair of the CITES Animals Committee (2002-2012). Rodrigo is Co-Chair of the IUCN Bat Specialist Group, Scientific Councilor, Convention on Migratory Species, Founding Director of the Latin American Network for Bat Conservation, and creator of Global South Bats, a network of bat scientists in Africa, Asia, and Latin America He has produced over 60 theses and 200 publications. His work has been featured in various documentaries from the BBC, National Geographic and other production houses. He is a Rolex Award Laureate, 2012 Whitley Gold Award winner, and the seventh Explorer-At-Large of the National Geographic Society.

Dr. Dave Waldien is a conservation biologist and National Geographic Explorer with over 25 years of experience catalyzing locally led sustainable conservation of the world’s bats. He received his MS in Forest Ecology and PhD in Wildlife Ecology from Oregon State University. He previously led Bat Conservation International, including serving as its Senior Director of Global Conservation and its Interim Executive Director. Under his leadership he repositioned BCI as an effective collaborator that worked with local experts around the world to empower their conservation work. He is currently a Graduate Associate Faculty at Christopher Newport University and serves as an Honorary Research Fellow with Lubee Bat Conservancy and the Harrison Institute. In addition to teaching undergraduate and graduate biology and environmental science classes, Waldien has active long-term collaborations with colleagues in Fiji, Kenya, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines as part of the Global Bat Conservation Network (GBatNet), Bat Conservation Africa (BCA), Pacific Islands Bat Conservation Network (PacBat), and the Southeast Asian Bat Conservation and Research Network (SEABCRU). Since 2017 he has served as the IUCN’s Red List Authority for Old World Bats, responsible for engaging bat experts to complete assessments of over 900 bat species to be published on the Red List of Threatened Species. His work with the Red List has been integrated into academic classes and expanded to other taxa.