Thomas Lovejoy
United States | Professor, George Mason University
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Thomas Lovejoy is a tropical biologist and conservationist who has specialized in the ecology of the Brazilian Amazon since 1965. He is famous for developing the concept of “debt-for-nature swaps” and for coining the term “biological diversity.”
A number of his past positions have included senior advisor to the president of the United Nations Foundation, chief biodiversity advisor to the World Bank, assistant secretary for environmental and external affairs for the Smithsonian Institution, and executive vice president of the World Wildlife Fund. In the past, Lovejoy has also been the chair of the Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies and president of the American Institute of Biological Sciences. He received fellowships at both the United Nations Foundation and the National Geographic Society.
Lovejoy has been on advisory councils under the Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Clinton administrations. He is currently an environmental science and policy professor at George Mason University. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Amazon Conservation Association and Population Action International, as well as the Scientific Board of SavingSpecies. He received both his BS and PhD from Yale University.
Lovejoy was an event speaker at the Dialogue.
