Page 19 - 2022 Graduate Student Commencement Program

Guest Speakers
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Onnie Byers (MS ’87 and PhD ’90, Animal Physiology) earned her PhD
in reproductive physiology from the University of Minnesota and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Zoo in Washington D.C., working on assisted reproductive techniques in endangered cat species. Onnie joined the IUCN SSC’s Conservation Planning Specialist Group (CPSG) in 1991 as
a Program Officer and was promoted to the position of Executive Director in 2005.
In 2011, she was appointed CPSG Chair becoming the first female to lead the organization in its 40-year history, including its 350 volunteer members, headquarters staff and 10 regional networks. In collaboration with government wildlife agencies, conservation organizations, SSC Specialist Groups, and zoos and aquariums,
Onnie facilitates the development of management strategies to minimize the risk of species extinction. Onnie is dedicated to the transfer of CPSG’s tools and processes to conservationists around the world and to learning about and developing new
tools to assist in stakeholder-inclusive, science-based species planning efforts. She has authored more than 50 scientific publications and book chapters and serves
on the Species Survival Commission Steering Committee, the Conservation and Sustainability Committee of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the Executive Committee of Amphibian Ark, Global Council of the Amphibian Survival Alliance, and the Boards of Species360 and the Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders
Alumni Speaker
Roberta Ryan (BS ’14, Fisheries and Wildlife; President, CFANS Alumni Society Board of Directors) is the Animal Curator at the Wildlife Science Center, a wildlife education, conservation, and research facility in Stacy, MN She graduated from CFANS in 2014, and her Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology degree allowed her to pursue her lifelong dream of working with wolves. Roberta has a passion for connecting alumni with each other, and for fostering relationships between alumni and current students She has served on the Mentor Program Steering Committee during most of her time on the board, and is excited about creating new opportunities for alumni to network and grow professionally.
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