David Waldien

Area of Specialization

Dr. Dave Waldien is a conservation biologist and National Geographic Explorer with over 25 years of experience catalyzing locally led sustainable conservation of the world’s bats.  His conservation research program is built upon the three strategies (assess - plan - act) promoted by the IUCN Species Survival Commission to achieve sustainable conservation. His collaborative program is active under the auspices of global and regional bat conservation networks as well as with trusted partners on initiatives that focus on broader biodiversity conservation priorities.   He previously led Bat Conservation International, including serving as its Senior Director of Global Conservation and its Interim Executive Director. Under his leadership he repositioned BCI as an effective collaborator that worked with local experts around the world to empower their conservation work. He is currently a Graduate Associate Faculty at Christopher Newport University and serves as an Honorary Research Fellow with Lubee Bat Conservancy and the Harrison Institute. In addition to teaching undergraduate and graduate biology and environmental science classes, Waldien has active long-term collaborations with colleagues in Fiji, Kenya, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines as part of the Global Bat Conservation Network (GBatNet), Bat Conservation Africa (BCA), Pacific Islands Bat Conservation Network (PacBat), and the Southeast Asian Bat Conservation and Research Network (SEABCRU). Since 2017 he has served as the IUCN’s Red List Authority for Old World Bats, responsible for engaging bat experts to complete assessments of over 900 bat species to be published on the Red List of Threatened Species. His work with the Red List has been integrated into academic classes and expanded to other taxa.

Background

Year of arrival: 2023, Visiting Assistant Teaching Professor College of William and Mary

Previous Positions:

• Associate Graduate Professor, Department of Organismal and Environmental Biology, Christopher Newport University, 2017-2023
• Adjunct Professor, STEM Division,Reading Area Community College, Reading, PA, 2020-2022
• Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, 2019-2021
• Adjunct Professor, Department of Biology, Lehigh Carbon Community College, Schnecksville PA, 2020
• Graduate Research Assistant, Oregon State University, 2000-2003
• Red List Authority Coordinator – Old World Bats, Bat Specialist Group, IUCN Species Survival Commission, 2018-present
• Honorary Research Fellow, Harrison Institute, United Kingdom, 2017 – present
• Honorary Research Fellow, Lubee Bat Conservancy, Gainesville, FL, 2019 – present
• Senior Director of Global Conservation, Bat Conservation International,  2004-2017
• Graduate Research Assistant, Oregon State University, 1996-2005
• Field Biologist, Weyerhaeuser Company, 1995 
• Wildlife Technician, Oregon State University, 1995                                                         
• Wildlife Technician, Southern Oregon University, 1992-1994           
• Staff Sergeant, United States Army, Fort Bragg, NC and Fort Richardson, AK, 1986-1992 

• Southern Oregon University, B.S. Biology, 1994
• Oregon State University, M.S. Forest Ecology, minor Wildlife Ecology, 1998
• Oregon State University, Ph.D. Wildlife Ecology, minor Forest Ecology, 2005