Gita Bodner

Gita has been with The Nature Conservancy in Arizona since 2005, based in Tucson. Her work focuses on bringing the best available science into land management and policy decisions, and creating that science if it doesn’t already exist. She also works with groups of stakeholders, using principles of Adaptive Management, to help groups solve problems around contentious or uncertain land management issues. Recent projects include advising on regional strategies to expand the use of native plants in restoration, learning from prescribed fire in wetland habitats and testing the success of TNC efforts to restore native mesquite bosque.

Gita got her start as an ecologist as a child in the woods of northern New Mexico. Her Anthropology Bachelor's from Harvard-Radcliffe College blended interests in social and biological sciences. Gita has been active in conservation of the Sky Island-Apache Highlands region since 1993, doing teaching, outreach, policy and science work with several schools and nonprofits. Her University of Arizona Ph.D. research on biodiversity of tropical jumping spiders indulged her love of the little things that run the planet and taught her to make the most of limited data about an unlimited world.