Emily is a Professor of Biological Sciences at the California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California, where she conducts research on the physiology, ecology, and conservation biology of California reptiles and amphibians with her students. Self-described as "obsessed with snakes," Emily is a staunch advocate for improving the public image of snakes via her research, her teaching, her community science initiative Project RattleCam, her consulting business that helps people and snakes in California coexist safely and peacefully, and most recently, her first book California Snakes and How to Find Them.

Presentation Title: Snake Paparazzi: What we can learn by spying on snakes with secret cameras 

Rick is a Professor at Macquarie University, Australia. His research concerns the interface between evolution and ecology, particularly in reptiles (snakes and lizards). In recent years, his work increasingly has shifted to focus on major issues in conservation - especially the biology, impact and control of invasive species such as the cane toad. He has worked extensively on evolutionary transitions in life-history traits and on sexually-selected traits. He also is interested in the interplay between different aspects of organismal biology, and how we can translate the results of "academic" research into effective conservation.

Virtual Presentation Title: Using snake-ecology research to inform conservation: a perspective from Australia 

For more than 30 years, Maria has traveled throughout Ecuador, determined to change the negative stigma surrounding venomous snakes and promoting the conservation of the Ecuadorian ecosystem. She currently serves as the Executive Director of the Gustavo Orces Herpetological Foundation, an Ecuadorian Non-Governmental Organization that is globally recognized in the field. In addition to research leading to biodiversity discoveries, Maria has dedicated her life to the study, conservation and protection of reptiles and amphibians in Ecuador. In her career to date, she has successfully provided training and educational programs to around 200,000 Ecuadorian children and more than 5000 people from the coastal and Amazonian communities.

Presentation Title: Coexisting with the Chocoan Bushmaster in the Northwestern-Ecuador 

Rich is a Distinguished Research Professor at Northern Illinois University, United States. His research focuses on the ecology, evolution, behavior and conservation biology of Midwestern amphibians and reptiles. His long-term study on the Lake Erie Watersnake aided in the delisting from being U.S. Federally Threatened and has lended much to our knowledge of Natricine biology. Other focal species of Rich and his students have included: Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnakes, DeKay's Brownsnakes, Eastern Gartersnakes, Blanding's Turtles and Spotted Salamanders. Rich has achieved all of his research goals while devoting much time to his family, his teaching and his graduate students.

Presentation Title: What a difference a year makes: growth, maturation, and reproductive frequency in three  natricine snakes.