We are a team of experts in wildlife, ecology, data science, policy, stewardship, and collaborative conservation. We collaborate with students, faculty, and partners across Berkeley’s campus and beyond.
Faculty
Stephanie Carlson
Stephanie M. Carlson is the A.S. Leopold Chair in Wildlife Biology at UC Berkeley. Her research considers ecology and conservation of fish. Carlson was the first member of her family to attend college. She earned her undergraduate degree in the Department of Evolution and Ecology at the University of California, Davis, her master’s degree in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Massachusetts, and her Ph.D. from the University of Washington. After graduating, Profesor Carlson was awarded a Marie Curie Early Stage Training Fellowship to join the University of Oslo Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis. In 2007 she was appointed an NSF Postdoctoral Fellow in Biological Informatics at UC Santa Cruz. At UC Berkeley, Professor Carlson specializes in the evolution and loss of biodiversity among salmon populations, impacts of drought and climate change on streams and stream fishes, and the ecological and evolutionary impacts of management (water, fishery, hatchery, and protected areas). Her research identified the importance of population diversity to the resiliency of salmon populations, and that a loss of diversity amongst salmon in managed rivers reduces their ability to respond to climate variability and change. Additionally, Professor Carlson serves as a science advisor for the Wild Salmon Center and a board member for California Trout.
Arthur Middleton
Arthur Middleton is associate professor of wildlife policy and management in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at UC Berkeley. He received a Master of Environmental Management degree from Yale University in 2007, and a PhD in ecology from the University of Wyoming in 2012. He conducted postdoctoral research as a Donnelly Fellow at Yale University. Professor Middleton’s research group studies the effects of environmental change on the behavioral, population, and community ecology of wide-ranging wildlife, with emphasis on habitat conservation and human-wildlife conflict reduction. He has led a variety of research initiatives that connect wildlife movements to large-landscape conservation, and has often collaborated with photographers, artists, filmmakers, and media organizations to communicate about science and conservation to the public. Professor Middleton previously served as Senior Advisor for Wildlife Conservation at the US Department if Agriculture. He leads the Stone Center's Beyond Yellowstone Living Lab.
Staff
Madhavi Colton (she/her)
Throughout her career, Dr. Madhavi Colton has worked at the intersection of science, community-centered conservation, management, and policy. She has directed and implemented conservation projects around the world and worked in multiple ecosystems. Most recently, Madhavi served as the Vice President & Executive Director of Audubon California where she led state-wide conservation efforts to restore and protect habitat, implement conservation-friendly policy, diversify conservation leadership through education and outreach efforts, and directly tackle climate change through responsibly sited renewable energy projects. Before Audubon, Madhavi worked for over a decade to protect one of the world’s most imperiled ecosystems: coral reefs. At the Coral Reef Alliance, Madhavi was appointed Executive Director after serving as Conservation Programs Director for several years. She worked with communities in Indonesia, Fiji, Hawai‘i, Honduras, and Mexico to reduce overfishing, improve water quality, reforest streams, and protect biodiversity. She also launched a research program into linked ecological and evolutionary responses to climate change and translated the results into conservation action at multiple scales. Prior to joining the Coral Reef Alliance, Madhavi helped develop socio-ecological monitoring plans for California’s marine protected area network while serving as a Scientist at California Ocean Science Trust. She has conducted research in the California current system, south-eastern Australia, and California’s deserts, and has the dubious distinction of being the world expert in treefish (which before you ask: no, they do not live in trees). Madhavi has a Ph.D. in marine ecology from the University of Melbourne, Australia, an M.Sc. in marine biology from San Francisco State University, and a B.A. in biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. When not at work, Madhavi can be found hiking in the Berkeley hills with her family, baking pies, or tackling DIY projects around the house.
Kristin Barker
As the Research Coordinator for the Beyond Yellowstone Program, Kristin runs and manages research projects that support landscape-scale conservation in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. She’s spent most of the last two decades living and working in the Rocky Mountains - hiking, camping, biking, skiing, paddling, and hunting. She has a PhD in environmental science from UC Berkeley, a master’s in wildlife biology from the University of Montana, and an Associate Wildlife Biologist certification from The Wildlife Society. Her personal research primarily focuses on the behavioral ecology of large terrestrial mammals, especially elk and wolves. When she’s not stumbling down a scree field or falling off her mountain bike, you’ll probably find her crocheting yet another unnecessary blanket.
Sean McMahon
Sean McMahon is the Program Manager for Berkeley Wildlife. He has over 10 years experience working at UC Berkeley. Sean is very excited to be working with the Wildlife Group and supporting the amazing work of the faculty, graduate students and post docs. Outside of work Sean has many hobbies, including crochet, bedazzling, and being a cat daddy to 2 lovely fur babies.
Suzanne Spencer (she/her)
Suzanne is the Communications Manager at the Stone Center. She has over 10 years of communications expertise in the nonprofit, philanthropic, and private sectors. She comes to Stone from Full Court Press Communications where she led efforts with Tribal leaders, scientists, funders, and advocates to persuade federal officials to conserve public lands throughout the western US. This included President Biden’s recent expansions of two California National Monuments: Berryessa Snow Mountain and the San Gabriel Mountains. Suzanne holds a Master’s of Public Administration from the University of Washington and a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from Willamette University. She loves spending time in Bay Area parks with her partner and their toddler and is an amateur ceramicist.
Postdoctoral Researchers
Kristin Davis (she/her)
Kristin is a postdoctoral researcher with the Stone Center for Environmental Stewardship and the Schmidt Center for Data Science & Environment at UC Berkeley. She got her master’s degree and PhD at Colorado State University and her bachelor’s degree at The College of William and Mary. Her academic background largely has focused on collaborative, applied research to inform bird conservation, such as stakeholder-driven grazing management practices to support grassland birds and using statistical modeling and decision science tools with a national group of scientists/biologists to investigate potential drivers of population decline for a widespread falcon species. Over the course of graduate school, however, Kristin became increasingly excited by the potential of big data to address environmental challenges from local to landscape scales. She aims to use the combined powers of collaboration, connection, data, and technology to inform the ethical and equitable development/implementation of conservation and land management approaches. At Berkeley, she’ll focus this goal on conservation approaches for working landscapes (e.g., grazing lands).
In her free time, Kristin loves being with family and friends, listening to podcasts, reading, practicing amateur mixology, and enjoying non-water-based outdoor recreation. She works remotely from Fort Collins, Colorado.
Advisory Board
- Kristin Barker, Beyond Yellowstone Research Coordinator
- Justin Brashares, Berkeley Wildlife Professor
- Stephanie Carlson, Berkeley Wildlife Professor
- Sylvia Bierhuis, Executive Director of Foundation Relations and Corporate Philanthropy, Berkeley
- Holly Doremus, Berkeley Law Professor
- Bob Golledge, James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Foundation
- Tara Kuipers, Principal at Tara Kuipers Consulting
- Arthur Middleton, Berkeley Wildlife Professor
- Sonja Plesset, James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Foundation
UC Berkeley Faculty Partners
The following faculty members are collaborating with the Stone Center on American Keystones: a new initiative that celebrates the role that keystone species, landscapes, and communities have played in North American history:
- Alejandra Echeverri Ochoa, Assistant Professor of Conservation Science, Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management
- Justin Brashares, Professor and G.R. & W.M. Goertz Chair, Department of Environmental Science, Policy, & Management
- Holly Doremus, Associate Dean, Faculty Development and Research & James H. House and Hiram H. Hurd Professor of Environmental Regulation, UC Berkeley Law
The Stone Center is working with Chris Schell, Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management to build out conservation convenings and events for our campus community and the public.