Suzana M. 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 has expanded to a graduate program that is being offered, and a new campus is under construction near IPÊ's headquarters for this purpose.

Suzana's approach is to raise local people's awareness to the importance of integrating social and environmental needs. Suzana has 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, an AVINA leader and the South American c0-chair for IUCN's Commission on Education and Communication. She has received a number of awards including: Bahá’i World Citizenship (2007); 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), Claudia Magazine Woman of the Year (2002), and in the U.S., the Conde Nast Traveler Environmental Award (2003).