Meet The Biodiversity Law Center Team

_{This YouTube video was produced by Defenders Of Wildlife. BrantaMedia.Com was not paid to post this video and is not partnered with Defenders Of Wildlife.}

The Biodiversity Law Center works at the intersection of conservation law and scientific analysis to advance durable, long-lasting wildlife protections where they are most needed. Learn more at: https://www.defenders.org/issues/biodiversity-law-center

Video Transcript:
Biodiversity is essentially the web of life.

McCrystie:
Every wildlife species depends on other wildlife species. Humans depend on wildlife species. They depend on plant species.

They depend on every part of our ecosystem. And we need to protect every piece to make sure that that ecosystem functions for wildlife and humans alike.

I have been at Defenders of Wildlife for ten years.

Daniel:
I have been at Defenders for just under a year.

Ellen:
Three years.

Jane:
11 years.

Lisa:
Since August of 2023.

Sierra:
I started working for Defenders Of Wildlife originally in 2008. And honestly, I’ve spent my entire career about the past 20 years or so working on biodiversity protection.

McCrystie:
I came to Defenders of Wildlife because protecting wildlife has been a lifelong passion of mine.

I think that every issue related to protecting the environment is important, but protecting wildlife has always made my heart sing. And I have always wanted to be a lawyer, to go to court to protect those who cannot protect themselves.

I am excited about the launch of the Biodiversity Law Center, because I think this is a wonderful opportunity to build on the scientific expertise,
the policy expertise, the lobbying expertise in this organization and combine it with our team of some of the most skilled litigators in the country and, take on the causes of biodiversity decline on our federal lands and in our oceans. And I can’t wait to get started.

Ellen:
I’m so excited for the Biodiversity Law Center. I think it really highlights the role that lawyers can have in proactively moving conservation forward.

Sierra:
I’m really energized about the creation of the Biodiversity Law Center. I think Defenders has such an incredible legacy of doing work for biodiversity protection. And the creation of the Biodiversity Law Center is poised to just take that to another level.

Lisa:
I’m grateful that Defenders has had the vision to do this and that our members and supporters have made it possible.

Jane:
I think the formation of the Biodiversity Law Center is an excellent opportunity to highlight and showcase the strategic legal thinking that Defenders has been known for for many years.

Daniel:
I’m one of the, youngest in the team. And, you know, everyone – Jane I work with in particular – are just experts in the field, and they’re experts on these issues and tackling these things. And I am just very lucky to get to work
under them and learn from them.

McCrystie:
My team of legal experts are some of the finest wildlife lawyers, environmental lawyers in the country. They are unmatched in their passion,
their dedication, their desire to do the right thing for our biodiversity and to stem the decline of biodiversity across the country.

We are doing some of the most exciting work that I’ve ever done in my conservation career.

The Biodiversity Law Center protects sea otters,

Daniel:
and we’re protecting national wildlife refuges.

Ellen:
I’ve worked on lynx, I’ve worked on red knots and horseshoe crabs in South Carolina.

Lisa:
So we’re defending the Endangered Species Act,

McCrystie:
Grizzly Bears,

Jane:
the North Atlantic Right Whales,

Sierra:
Red Wolves,

Jane:
uncharismatic micro fauna,

Lisa:
wetlands in Florida, which has just amazing biodiversity,

Ellen:
sea turtles and coastal birds in the Mississippi River Delta.

Lisa:
We are protecting reintroduced wolves in Colorado, restoring the ecosystem there,

Ellen:
wolves in the Northern Rockies,

Sierra:
and the marine environment.

Jane:
We have to protect all species in their native habitats across North America
if we want to pass on a heritage to future generations.

McCrystie:
There’s nothing I would rather spend my time on than speaking up, advocating, going to court on behalf of wildlife and our wild places, and ensuring that they have places to live and their habitats are protected for decades into the future, and that every piece of the puzzle remains in the wild, not just the wolves and the Grizzly Bears, which I love with all my heart, but also the freshwater mussels, to the Hellbenders, to the Pallid Sturgeon to species that don’t get the attention that wolves and Grizzly Bears get. But all of them need it.

All of them need us speaking up for them because our wild places are disappearing. And we need to protect those wild places for wildlife, for humans, for decades to come. And to make sure that those wild places last forever.

You can learn more about the Biodiversity Law Center by visiting us at defenders.org.