I am the Executive Director of The Clifton Institute in Warrenton, Virginia. I have a long-standing interest in the ecology and conservation of forests and grasslands in the eastern United States. At the Clifton Institute I direct a program of research on grassland restoration, declining native species, and the effects of urbanization and climate change on biodiversity. I am also a passionate land manager and I work with my team to restore native plant and animal communities on the Clifton Institute’s 900-acre property As an environmental educator I try to get people excited about the lesser known and underappreciated species around us. I also strive to instill an appreciation for the intrinsic value of plants and for their importance for maintaining animal populations.
In addition to my work in the temperate zone, I have a background in research on the effects of the wildlife trade, climate change, and habitat loss on tropical birds, especially in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Ecuador. I believe that strict protected areas are critically important for stopping extinctions around the world. I remain engaged with tropical conservation in my role as a board member for the Jocotoco Foundation.
PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS
January 2018-present: Executive Director, The Clifton Institute
Fall 2018-present: Adjunct faculty at American University and George Mason University
August 2015-December 2017: Director of Biodiversity Conservation, Rainforest Trust
July 2012-July 2015: Postdoctoral research fellow, Princeton University (Supervisor: David Wilcove).
EDUCATION
Ph.D., University of Adelaide, Australia (2012). Thesis: Measuring and predicting the effects of climate change on Southeast Asian and Australian birds. Supervisors: Barry Brook, Damien Fordham, and the late Navjot Sodhi
B.S., Sewanee: The University of the South, USA (2006). Honors thesis: Land cover sampling biases in the North American Breeding Bird Survey. Supervisor: David Haskell
J. Berton C. Harris 