After working with the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the conservation of endangered birds, Rob spent 23 years as the Director of Science for The Nature Conservancy in Arizona where he lead large-scale, regional conservation planning efforts and scientific studies to understand the relationship among climate change, the health of Arizona’s forests and the water generated by forests that gives rise to our rivers and, ultimately, water supplies.
Early in the Trust’s development Rob worked closely with founding director, Diana Freshwater, and members of southern Arizona’s conservation community to develop conservation priorities for Pima County’s Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan. And as a member of Pima County’s Conservation Acquisition Commission from 2004 to 2012, Rob helped guide the County’s Board of Supervisors in spending voter-approved bond funds to achieve the County’s Conservation goals. Rob obtained his Masters in Wildlife Ecology from Yale University’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and his B.A. in Human Ecology from College of the Atlantic.