Series Co-hosts: Maria Isabel Delgado, Shannon Murray, Sandra Rodrigues Piñeros, Ivana Zivojinovic, Jigchen Norbu, and Gary Dunning

Speaker Biographies

Maria Isabel Delgado – María Isabel Delgado – Lecturer, Faculty of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Argentina; Researcher, National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET)

María Isabel Delgado is a Lecturer in the Faculty of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences at the Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP) in Argentina and a researcher at the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET). She holds an undergraduate degree in Forestry Engineering, an MSc in Integrated Watershed Management, and a PhD in Engineering. Delgado specializes in watershed management, including hydrological modeling, water quality, and the use of geographic information systems. She has published books, book chapters, and articles in nationally and internationally indexed journals and has led research, outreach, and teaching activities in Argentina and internationally.  She currently serves as Coordinator of the Standing Committee on Education at the Argentine Network for Forest Science and Technology (REDFOR.ar) and is a member of the IUFRO-FAO Task Force on Scaling Up Science-Based Forest Sector Innovation.

Shannon Murray – Director of Strategic Initiatives, College of Forestry, Oregon State University

Shannon Murray is the Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Oregon State University College of Forestry, where she connects research, policy, and engagement. Her work focuses on strategic opportunities to advance the College’s mission and impact – through communications, capacity-building, and collaborative partnerships that elevate the role of science in addressing complex natural resource challenges. Prior to joining Oregon State University, Murray served as a forest manager for the Yale School Forests, a research assistant in the Seto Lab on Urbanization and Global Change, and as an outdoor educator for an environmental nonprofit. She holds an MEM degree from the Yale School of the Environment and a BA in biology and english from the University of Connecticut.

Sandra Rodríguez Piñeros – Professor, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, México

Sandra Rodríguez Piñeros has more than 20 years of international experience in forest management and the social aspects of forests. She has worked for the governments of Colombia and México, nongovernmental organizations and academia. She is currently a Professor at the Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua (UACH) in México and a member of the IUFRO Executive Board. Rodríguez Piñeros holds a degree in Forestry Engineering from the Francisco José de Caldas District University in Colombia, a Master of Science in Forest Sciences and a PhD in Environmental Sciences from Oklahoma State University. Her research focuses on sustainable forest management, forest policy and forestry education. She has received numerous awards for her research and academic leadership. From 2016 to 2024, Rodríguez Piñeros coordinated the IUFRO-IFSA Joint Task Force on Forestry Education and served as Lead Assessor for Latin America and the Caribbean in the 2022 IUFRO, FAO and ITTO Global Assessment of Forestry Education.

Ivana Živojinović – Senior Researcher, BOKU University; Deputy Head, European Forest Institute Forest Policy Research Network

Ivana Živojinović is a Senior Researcher at the Institute of Forest, Environmental and Natural Resource Policy (InFER) and the Centre for Bioeconomy (ZfB) at BOKU University in Vienna. She also serves as Deputy Head of the European Forest Institute (EFI) Forest Policy Research Network, which is hosted by BOKU. Živojinović holds a doctoral degree in social and economic sciences in forestry from BOKU, a double master's degree in European Forestry from BOKU and the University of Eastern Finland, and a diploma engineer degree in landscape architecture from the University of Belgrade. With more than a decade of research experience, Živojinović specializes in forest policy and governance, forest ownership, innovation in forestry, and bioeconomy policy. She currently coordinates IUFRO Task Force 50, "Building an Integrated Vision of the Forest-Based Sector within a Bioeconomy," and serves as deputy coordinator of IUFRO Working Party 9.05.01, "Bioeconomy Policy in North and South Perspectives."

Jigchen Norbu – Coordinating Member, International Union of Forest Research Organizations

Jigchen Lhazom Norbu is a coordinating member of the IUFRO Task Force on Scaling Up Science-based Forest Sector Innovation. She works on forestry innovation and forests and water programmes in the international development space. Previously, she worked under the Royal Government of Bhutan as a Coordinator and Project Manager on drinking water, irrigation, and hydropower regulation projects.  She holds a Master’s in Environmental Management with a specialization in Water Resources Science and Management from the Yale School of the Environment, U.S.A., and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Sciences from Mahidol University, Thailand.

Gary Dunning – Executive Director, The Forest School at the Yale School of the Environment