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Olivia LeDee

Staff
Deputy Federal Director

Research Interests

In 2008, I completed a Ph.D. in Conservation Biology from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. My dissertation addressed the relationship between non–breeding shorebird populations, landscape conversion, and management of listed species in coastal areas

From 2008-2012, my research focused on qualitatively and quantitatively assessing the vulnerability of wildlife to the direct and indirect impacts of climate change. As a Research Associate and Assistant Scientist in the Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I worked with the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts and was the lead author of the wildlife assessment. During this time, I worked closely with multiple state and federal agencies and non-governmental organizations to understand the effects of climate change on natural resources and respond with active management.

I previously worked for the State of Minnesota as a Policy and Planning Consultant in the Division of Fish and Wildlife. My primary responsibility was to provide technical, policy, and decision support on contentious issues and emerging threats, including climate change. I represented the Midwest Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies on both the Department of Interior’s Advisory Committee on Climate Change and Natural Resource Science and the Joint Implementation Working Group of the National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy.

In addition to my experience and interest in climate change, I also work in the areas of planning, public engagement, decision analysis, natural resource policy, and conservation funding.

Projects --> /projects/wildlife-adaptation-menu


Expertise

Wildlife impacts • adaptation planning • decision analysis • natural resource policy • conservation funding

Education

Ph.D.: Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, 2008
M.S.: Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
B.S.: Biology, Loyola University, New Orleans

Experience

Deputy Director, Northeast Climate Science Center, St. Paul, MN, Dec. 2016- Present
Policy and Planning Consultant in the Division of Fish and Wildlife, State of Minnesota