Suzana Padua

Conservation Scientist, Wildlife Trust Alliance

Suzana M. Padua is a Brazilian environmental educator with a doctoral degree from the University of Brasilia and a Master's from the University of Florida. She is the president of IPÊ - Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas (Institute for Ecological Research), a Brazilian organization that works for the conservation of biodiversity and sustainable development. Her conservation education efforts are broad and the programs she helps conduct reach students, mid-career professionals and decision makers. With this in mind, Suzana created the Brazilian Center for Conservation Biology, an education center linked to IPÊ, which was established to help provide conservationists from Brazil and other Latin American countries with skills that may enhance their performance. This center is now being expanded to a graduate program that will be offered at a new campus being constructed near IPÊ's headquarters.

Suzana's approach is to raise local people's awareness to the importance of integrating the social and the environmental needs. Suzana has been published widely in many countries and, as a consultant, she has been able to contribute to several governmental and non-governmental projects related to environmental education. She is a member of the Wildlife Trust Alliance, an Ashoka fellow and an AVINA leader. She has received a number of awards including Ford Motor Company Conservation Award (2006), the Most Influential Women of Brazil (Forbes, Gazeta Mercantil and Jornal do Brasil (finalist in 2004 and winner in 2005), Woman of the Year (Claudia magazine finalist of 2002), and in the USA, the Conde Nast Traveler Environmental Award (2003).