Necessary elements for transparent, equitable, and community-engaged international collaborations

Ancilleno Davis, Michelle LeFebvre, and Alexis Mychajliw in conversation

Ancilleno Davis is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Science at the University of the Bahamas and Faculty Programs Coordinator of UB North Field Station. He grew up on New Providence Island in The Bahamas and has visited more than 13 countries and territories to deliver scientific talks or presentations on ecology and conservation. His work focuses on the empowerment of local people to support native wildlife biodiversity and conservation and to encourage local partners to improve the quality and equity of data that inform conservation policy and management decisions. Students and colleagues in the Bahamas call him Dr. Leno. Dr. Davis has also held photography exhibitions in Ohio and provides his wildlife photography for educational use to conservation and educational initiatives.

  Michelle LeFebvre is an Assistant Curator of Archaeology at the Florida Museum of Natural History (FM), the Assistant Director of the FM Randell Research Center, and the Curator of the South Florida People & Environments exhibit. She oversees the curation, management, and accessibility of the FM’s South Florida Archaeology and Ethnography Collections. Centered within the synergy of culture and biology, she investigates long-term trends in human-environment engagements with an eye toward understanding the development of complex socio-ecological systems, how Indigenous biocultural legacies shape contemporary biodiversity, and how deep-time perspectives may aid conservation efforts.    Alexis Mychajliw joined Middlebury as an Assistant Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies in 2021. She is also a National Geographic explorer and a Research Associate at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.