Wilson Center Lovejoy Award for Leadership in Environmental Conservation in Latin America

Award Overview
Eligibility & Selection Process

The Lovejoy Award recognizes leaders under 40 contributing to the development of conservation public policy across Latin America. Potential candidates include government officials, civil society leaders, journalists, and scientists making lasting impacts in environmental conservation, including in tropical forests. Applicants are evaluated by an award committee that includes Wilson Center representatives, the Lovejoy family, and conservation leaders
Award Benefits

Awards will be presented at an annual ceremony involving conservation leaders from the United States and Latin America. Awardees will receive a $10,000 prize and be named a residential fellow at the Wilson Center. During the fellowship, awardees will have opportunities to conduct research, organize events, and engage with a variety of conservation actors, both in Washington and at institutions throughout the United States where Tom played an important role.

The Lovejoy Award celebrates emerging leaders in environmental conservation. By recognizing and empowering individuals under 40 engaged in public policy and conservation efforts, the Lovejoy Award continues Tom's mission of safeguarding our planet’s biodiversity.

Founding and Honorary Committee

Advait Jukar

Assistant Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology, Florida Museum of Natural History

Rita Mesquita

National Secretary of Biodiversity, Forests, and Animal Rights, Republic of Brazil

PJ Simmons

Executive Director, Rivian Foundation

Avecita Chicchón

Latin America and Caribbean Program Director, Wildlife Conservation Society

Caroline Niemzyk

Chair, Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies

Cristián Samper

Managing Director and Leader for Nature Solutions, Bezos Earth Fund

Carlos Manuel Rodriguez

CEO and Chairperson, Global Environment Facility

Juan Carlos Navarro

Principal Technical Leader, Competitiveness and Innovation Division, Inter-American Development Bank

Betsy Lovejoy

Member, Executive Advisory Committee, Lovejoy Center for Bridging Biodiversity

Annie Lovejoy Jenkins

Member, Board of Trustees, Barker Adoption Foundation

Kata Petty

Interior Designer

Minister Marina Silva's Remarks

Legacy of Thomas Lovejoy

Dr. Thomas E. Lovejoy, known as the “Godfather of Biodiversity,” was a pioneering ecologist who introduced the term "biodiversity" to the scientific community. As founder of the Amazon Biodiversity Center and creator of the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments project, he dedicated over four decades to studying and protecting the Amazon rainforest.

A Senior Fellow at the United Nations Foundation and chief biodiversity advisor to the World Bank, Lovejoy conceived innovative conservation mechanisms like Debt-for-Nature Swaps. He authored over 300 publications, advised global leaders, and received numerous accolades, including the Tyler Prize and Brazil’s Grand Cross of the Order of Scientific Merit.

Lovejoy’s legacy as a scientist, communicator, and advocate continues to inspire efforts to protect our planet’s biological diversity.

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Video

Lovejoy Award for Leadership in Environmental Conservation in Latin America - Marina Silva's Message

Duration:1:36Posted date/time:December 12, 2024

Latin America Program

The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the Wilson Center’s strength as the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action. Read more

Brazil Institute

The Brazil Institute—the only country-specific policy institution focused on Brazil in Washington—aims to deepen understanding of Brazil’s complex landscape and strengthen relations between Brazilian and US institutions across all sectors.  Read more

Wilson Center Lovejoy Award for Leadership in Environmental Conservation in Latin America