40th Anniversary Summit
Conservation Innovation: Advancing Endangered Species Conservation
May 1, 2024 | 7:00-9:00 p.m.
San Diego Natural History Museum | 1788 El Prado, San Diego, CA 92101
The Center for Plant Conservation (CPC) is pleased to celebrate our organization’s milestone 40th anniversary at a special event, Conservation Innovation: Advancing Endangered Species Conservation, hosted in collaboration with the San Diego Natural History Museum. Blending celebration with purpose, this event aims to commemorate the significant strides CPC and its network of Conservation Partners have made over the past 40 years to protect and conserve North America’s rare and endangered native flora, and to generate crucial funds in support of CPC’s mission to save plants from extinction.
Attendees will have the unique opportunity to hear from distinguished conservation scientists and practitioners, including keynote speaker Dr. Oliver Ryder, Director of Conservation Genetics at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, and a panel of leading experts in the field of plant conservation. These experts will provide insights into groundbreaking innovations shaping the future of conservation efforts—while underscoring the urgent need to safeguard biodiversity, especially our imperiled native flora. The summit will serve as a platform for esteemed experts, professionals, and advocates from related fields, as well as engaged citizens, to come together. We will discuss the importance of protecting and conserving native plants and their habitats, as well as the pivotal role innovation and technology play in advancing conservation initiatives and establishing sustainable responses to global environmental crises.
Following presentations, we invite all participants to convene in the Museum’s atrium for a cocktail reception, which will include hors d’oeuvres along with continuing conversation—a perfect culmination to an evening dedicated to safeguarding the botanical diversity that enriches our planet.
WHEN: Wednesday, May 1, 2024
TIME: 7:00 to 9:00 pm
WHERE: San Diego Natural History Museum | 1788 El Prado, San Diego, CA 92101
TICKETS: $50.00 per person
Please RSVP by April 17, 2024. Space is limited.
Event Highlights
Keynote Presentation – Dr. Oliver Ryder, SDZWA
Panel Q&A Discussion
Dr. Oliver Ryder
Kleberg Endowed Director of Conservation Genetics, San Diego Zoo Wildlife AllianceDr. Oliver Ryder is the Kleberg Endowed Director of Conservation Genetics at San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. His current work focuses on biobanking, molecular genetics, genomics, and genetic rescue efforts, including stem cell applications, all focused on reducing extinction risk and contributing to species recovery and sustainable populations.
He guides strategic efforts to foster and expand a global network of cryobanking facilities, especially for viable cell cultures, as Chair of the Animal Biobanking for Conservation Specialist Group of SSC-IUCN.
Oliver’s publications include key studies relevant to conservation management efforts for gorillas, California condors, African rhinos, Przewalski’s horses, Anegada iguanas, bighorn sheep, and other species. He was a co-organizer of the Genome 10K, is a Steering Committee member of the Vertebrate Genome Project, and a member of the Earth Biogenome Project.
An AAAS fellow, recognized for contributions to understanding and conserving genetic diversity, Oliver’s scientific achievements in animal health and species conservation have been recognized by the Explorer’s Club, American Association of Zoo Veterinarians, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. He received a PhD in Biology from the University of California, San Diego, where he is now Adjunct Professor in the Department of Evolution, Behavior and Ecology.
Panel Speakers
Dr. Naomi Fraga | Director of Conservation Programs, California Botanic Garden
Naomi Fraga, Ph.D. is Director of Conservation Programs at the California Botanic Garden and Research Assistant Professor of Botany at Claremont Graduate University. She is a botanist focused on plant conservation in the western U.S. and her primary research focus is in plant conservation, rarity and endemism, plant systematics (Phrymaceae), and floristics primarily in the Mojave Desert, Transverse Ranges, and southern Sierra Nevada in California.
Naomi was awarded the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Recovery Champion Award in 2019, The Center for Plant Conservation Star Award in 2021, the Center for Biological Diversity’s E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Award in 2021, and the American Society of Plant Taxonomists Peter Raven Award in 2023. She also serves on the board of the Southern California Botanists, the Amargosa Conservancy, and the Claremont Wildlands Conservancy.
Dr. Jon Rebman | Mary and Dallas Clark Endowed Chair/Curator of Botany, San Diego Natural History Museum
Jon P. Rebman is the Mary and Dallas Clark Endowed Chair/Curator of Botany at the San Diego Natural History Museum since 1996. Dr. Rebman is a plant taxonomist and conducts extensive floristic research in Baja California and in San Diego and Imperial Counties. His primary research interests have centered on the systematics of the cactus family in Baja California, especially the genera Cylindropuntia (chollas) and Opuntia (prickly-pears). However, he also does a lot of general floristic research and has co-published the most recent edition of the Checklist of the Vascular Plants of San Diego County and the Annotated Checklist of the Vascular Plant of Baja California, Mexico. He has over 30 years of field experience with surveying and documenting plants including rare and endangered species. As a field botanist, he is a very active collector of scientific specimens with his personal collections numbering over 37,200. To date, he has named and described 33 new plants for science from the southern California and Baja California region.
“The desert regions of Baja California and southern California satisfy my need for scientific adventure while providing a sense of excitement towards botany, reverence for nature and its unaltered beauty, appreciation for the complexity of natural history, and an overall feeling of peace and purpose.”
Kimberly Shay | Network Coordinator, Laukahi: The Hawai‘i Plant Conservation Network
Kimberly Shay is the Network Coordinator at Laukahi: The Hawaiʻi Plant Conservation Network. Laukahi is a nonprofit organization that coordinates a voluntary alliance of 42 agencies, organizations and individuals dedicated to protecting native plant species in Hawai‘i. The network aligns conservation activities and demonstrates progress in plant conservation across the Hawaiian Islands by implementing the Hawai‘i Strategy for Plant Conservation. Kim joined Laukahi in 2022 where she facilitates and coordinates the network’s activities that prioritize 868 Species of Conservation Importance.
She completed B.S. degrees in Biology and Bioinformatics from Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA and an M.S. in Botany (Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology) from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, studying coastal plants’ pollinators and breeding systems, and pollination networks. Prior to Laukahi, Kim gained experience as a commodity manager. During this time, she published two papers from her M.S. thesis. Later, she joined the Botanical Research Institute of Texas in the publishing department, BRIT Press, as the Assistant Editor and Press Fulfillment Coordinator, managing the online publications and press fulfillment operations
Since joining Laukahi, Kim and the Network launched an infographic dashboard, completed red list assessments of Hawai‘i’s trees, and assessed the status of Hawaiian plants in the wild and in protected collections. Partnerships within the network continue to advance best management practices, centralize information and tools, and build the native plant material supply chain. The network has promoted native plant conservation to broader audiences thanks to PBS Hawai‘i and Waialua Estate chocolate labels. Kim is proud to work together with partners and advisors to advance plant conservation in Hawai‘
About the Center for Plant Conservation
The Center for Plant Conservation is a pioneering organization with the primary mission to save the 4,400 most endangered native plants of North America from extinction. Together with our 80 world-class Conservation Partners at botanic gardens, academic institutions, government agencies, and organizations worldwide, we collect species in the wild and place them in conservation frameworks where we conduct research and fieldwork and implement model restoration projects in communities, landscapes, and open spaces. For the past 40 years, CPC’s network has successfully protected and reintroduced thousands of native plant species and created internationally-recognized models of plant conservation and open space restoration. We have also mounted regional initiatives in the U.S., expanded collaborations to other areas of the world, and are training future generations of conservationists globally.
Our mission
CPC safeguards rare plants by advancing science-based conservation practices, connecting and empowering plant conservationists, and inspiring all to protect biodiversity for future generations.
Have questions or need assistance with your reservation? Please contact us at info@saveplants.org.