Dr. Smith is a professor of Wildlife Sciences at Brigham Young University in Utah, where he has taught for the past 16 years. Over the course of his career, he has also worked for the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Geological Survey. Dr. Smith has conducted studies of bighorn, bobcats, and four species of bears (sloth, black, brown, and polar). He has studied human-bear interactions for the past 21 years with research in Alaska, Utah, Canada, and India. His research focuses on human-wildlife conflict and a thread that weaves throughout all his work is the promotion of human safety and bear conservation. Dr. Smith serves as a scientific advisor to Polar Bears International, Wildlife SOS-India, and the international working group for polar bear conflict resolution.

Maggie Dwire is the Deputy Mexican Wolf Recovery Coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. She has degrees in Biological Anthropology and Environmental Studies. Maggie started her career with the USFW service more than 20 years ago already focused on recovery of the Mexican wolf. Despite (or “Though”) coming perilously close to extinction, with the help of the Endangered Species Act, the Mexican wolf is staging a remarkable comeback through a collaborative binational recovery program with Mexico. Maggie’s responsibilities include recovery and management of the Mexican wolf both in the wild and as liaison to the binational breeding program.

Young Kate (Phillips) Davis began her avian life here at the Cincinnati Zoo with the Junior Zoologist Club and mentor Barry Wakeman. Then 13 years old, the JZC has influenced every aspect of her life since. Kate founded the education program Raptors of the Rockies 35 years ago and now (or “still”) runs the program from the banks of the Bitterroot River in Western Montana. Along for the ride are a dozen non-releasable falconry birds, the stars of nearly 2000 programs. They are family, and the sources of inspiration for her drawings, paintings, etchings, welded steel sculptures, photography, and writing.

Dr. Davis is the Senior Scientist, and Policy Analyst at the Bahamas National Trust. He has taught at three universities and works with organizations in the Bahamas and around the world to train local communities on conservation issues. He works both in the marine and terrestrial environment. He is a builder and educator in the organizational and policy development realms. Dr. Davis strengthens formal science with local perspectives to achieve conservation success.