Sky Island Alliance has been protecting and restoring the diversity of life and lands in the Sky Island region of the U.S. and Mexico for over 30 years. Barbara's guest is the Executive Director who shares the science, education, and advocacy to connect the binational landscapes, people, and wildlife of the Sky Islands for the benefit of all.
Personal Bio ~ Louise Misztal
Executive Director - Sky Island Alliance
Louise grew up in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado at 8,000 feet and has been in love with mountains ever since. She came to Tucson, to attend college because of, you guessed it, the beautiful mountains, and the wonderful science programs at the University of Arizona. She studied Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and then years later studied Geographic Information Systems. Louise loves hiking creeks, looking for birds and swimming holes, learning new plant names and snoozing in her hammock.
Louise Misztal has worked at Sky Island Alliance for the past sixteen years in various positions ranging from volunteering to serving as Conservation Director. She now serves as Executive Director and is committed to crafting creative solutions to pressing conservation issues and building collaboration among diverse partners. Previously, Louise was the principal architect of a regional climate change adaptation workshop series designed for resource managers to advance understanding of impacts on ecosystems and wildlife. This led to critical new work to survey, protect, and restore fragile spring ecosystems. She was also principal investigator on a project to collaboratively develop a climate-smart landscape conservation design for the Sky Island region, focused on springs, streams, and grasslands.
Sky Island Alliance has been protecting and restoring the diversity of life and lands in the Sky Island region of the U.S. and Mexico for over 30 years. We work primarily in Arizona and Sonora and are the only organization dedicated to conserving the entire Sky Island region. We use science, education, and advocacy to connect the binational landscapes, people, and wildlife of the Sky Islands for the benefit of all. Each year our 13 staff members work with hundreds of volunteers and students from the local community to study wildlife and springs, and to bring damaged ecosystems back to thriving health.
