Who We Are

Social Science Working Group of the Society for Conservation Biology: A global community of conservation professionals

Mission

Strengthen Conservation Social Science and its Application to Conservation Practice

Vision

Inform Scientific Debate; Establish Global Community; Catalyze Future Generations

Goals

Science, Policy, Capacity-Building, Membership, and Organizational Capacity

MISSION

The mission of the Social Science Working Group (SSWG) is to strengthen conservation social science and its application to conservation practice.

VISION

  • Inform key scientific debates in conservation policy
  • Establish a vibrant global community of conservation social scientists
  • Catalyze development of the next generation of leaders in conservation social science

GOALS

  • Science. Advance scientific understanding of conservation as a social process
  • Policy. Inform conservation decision-making through scientific dialogue and stakeholder engagement
  • Capacity-Building. Enhance the ability of scholars and practitioners to understand and address the social dimensions of biodiversity conservation
  • Membership. Expand, diversify, and engage the SSWG membership
  • Organizational Development. Increase the capacity of the SSWG to achieve its mission

Board of Directors

Learn more about the current SSWG Board Members

Stephanie Brittain

President

Steph is a Lecturer at the University of Kent, with broad interests in local ecological knowledge and rights-based approaches.

Matthew Selinske

Past President

Matthew is a postdoctoral fellow in the ICON Science Lab at RMIT University (Australia), with conservation psychology interests.

Amit Kaushik

Secretary

Amit is a PhD candidate in Integrative Conservation (ICON) and Anthropology at the University of Georgia, with broad interests in conservation science and more-than-human relationships.

Tina Philipps

At-large member

Tina is a social science researcher at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology studying the intersections of participatory sciences, nature, well-being, and conservation behaviors.

Francisco Gelves-Gómez

Francisco Gelves-Gómez

At-large Member

Francisco is Associate Lecturer in Sustainability at the School of Geography, Planning and Spatial Sciences, University of Tasmania.

Sayan Banerjee

At-Large Member

Sayan is an interdisciplinary conservation researcher, affiliated with the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru, India. He works on conservation governance, human-wildlife interactions, conservation and development, gender, environment and development, majorly in India.

Rocío Lopez

At-Large Member

Rocío is a Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellow at The University of Bonn (Germany) with broad interests in human rights, coastal communities, and people’s relationships with nature.

Amemarlita Matos

Amemarlita Matos

At-Large Member

Amemarlita is a Conservation Practitioner & Researcher, who works with local communities on the issues of livelihood, education, and sustainability. She also teaches at the Instituto Superior Politécnico de Manica.

Van Thi Hai Nguyen

At-Large Member

Van is a Postdoctoral Researcher in Governance and Policy at the Wyss Academy for Nature, University of Bern, and Vice Director of People and Nature Reconciliation (PanNature), a Hanoi-based NGO focused on conservation and sustainable development.

Ans Vercammen

At-Large Member

Ans is a Senior Research Fellow at the School of Communication and Arts at The University of Queensland (Australia). She is interested in the human well-being dimensions of environmental (and particularly, climate) change.

Bright Olunusi

At-Large Member

Bright is a PhD scholar at the Department of Earth and Environment, Boston University. She has a keen interest in modeling human-wildlife interactions amidst climate change and development pressures.

Saloni Bhatia

At-Large Member

Saloni is a conservation anthropologist with an interest in multispecies coexistence and rights-based approaches to conservation. She is a Fellow at ATREE, India.

Jichuan Sheng

At-Large Member

Jichuan Sheng is a Full Professor at the Business School, Hohai University (China). He is interested in the human dimensions of environmental change, specializing in Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES), water governance, and market-based environmental instruments.

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SSWG Committees

Learn more about the work of the Social Science Working Group
Communications

Communications

Chair: Amit Kaushik & Rocío Lopez de la Lama

Provides advice on development of printed, electronic, and other media of the SSWG such as newsletters and web sites; achieves the outreach and marketing goals of the SSWG

DEIJ

DEIJ

Chair: Ans Vercammen or Kwan-Lamar Blount-Hill

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice to oppose racism, discrimination, oppression, prejudice, and other acts of injustice and inequality in all activities associated with the SSWG

Student Affairs

Student Affairs

Chair: Francisco Felipe Gelves-Gomez & Patricia Manzano-Fischer

Facilitate the participation of undergraduate and graduate students in activities of the SSWG and the SCB; Communicates student issues to the SSWG and the SCB

Membership & Nominations

Membership & Nominations

Chair: Lily Van Eeden & Amemarlita Matos

Encourages membership in both the SSWG and the SCB, especially among underrepresented groups; liaises with SCB Diversity Committee on issues of mutual interest

Organizational Capacity

Organizational Capacity

Chair: Tina Phillips & Stephanie Brittain

Enhances internal capacity of SSWG to achieve its mission; develops transparent, systematic, and inclusive mechanisms to improve logistical and organizational operations

Programs & Conferences

Programs & Conferences

Chair: Sayan Banerjee & Matthew Selinske

Coordinates and organizes social science content for ICCB, other SCB conferences, and related conservation conferences; organizes social events and business meetings