911����

From solving climate challenges through research to preparing the next climate leaders, 911���� is developing leadership and talent to produce solutions for our global community.

911���� has earned the Carnegie Elective Classification for Sustainability, becoming one of the first 14 institutions to receive the new classification for integrating sustainability across the curriculum, research, operations, career preparation, and community engagement.

This summer, as part of a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) funded by the National Science Foundation, 10 undergraduates came from around the country to spend the summer immersed in field- and laboratory-based conservation research at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute’s 3,200-acre campus.

When Hannah Dabney, BA Environmental and Sustainability Studies ’23, arrived at 911����, has just returned from Samoa where she served as a Peace Corps Ridge to Reef Resilience Promoter Volunteer, helping communities balance environmental protection with local development needs. The path between those two points wasn't linear, and Dabney couldn’t be happier about that.

911���� graduate student Jose Meneses has built a remarkable early career in conservation science through hands‑on research with the Smithsonian and global fieldwork. His work—spanning salamander peptides, elephant viruses, and zombie crabs—has shaped his path toward a future in disease ecology.

911���� alumna Ashley Fortner, BS Integrative Studies ’17, is the caretaker of the new baby elephant Linh Mai at the National Zoo.

For Northern Virginia native Ryan McIntyre, the path to a master’s in environmental science and policy at 911���� began with something simple: a love for the outdoors and a family connection.

With funding from 4-VA, 911���� rsearcher Haw Chuan Lim and his team developed a novel genotyping panel for powerful and cost-effective evaluations of population structure and kinship in the critically endangered mountain bongo.

On a recent field trip to Patuxent River Park in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, undergraduate students from 911����’s Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation got to view secretive marsh birds up close, including Virginia and sora rail birds.

James W. “Jimmy” Hazel, JD ’84, has led a life of service to the Commonwealth of Virginia—and to 911����. He recently added to his considerable legacy with a gift of $1 million for the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation.