Search Speaker Bureau
The Speakers Bureau is a directory of arctic researchers and experts that are available to visit organizations, communities or schools to give presentations. The directory contains names, addresses, science specialties, and presentation experience.
We encourage organizations and communities applying to the Arctic Visiting Speakers Series to use the Speakers Bureau to select a visiting speaker. If a particular subject or speaker is not listed, please contact Judy Fahnestock at avs [at] arcus [dot] org, for suggested speakers.
William Burns
About:
Dr. Burns is currently an Associate Professor and Program Head of the Department of International Environmental Policy at the Monterey Institute of International Studies. He also serves as Co-Chair of the International Environmental Law Interest Group of the American Society of International Law and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of International Wildlife Law and Policy. His research interests in the context of the Arctic are in the potential impacts of climate change on Arctic species and ecosystems, and the potential impacts of energy exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Dr. Burns is an experienced speaker giving approximately 30–40 presentations each year. He is interested in speaking to academic audiences and the general public and is available to participate in the Arctic Visiting Speakers Series throughout the year.
Representative lecture titles include:
- The impact of climate change on Arctic fauna and flora species
- Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: The case not made
- The impact of climate change on cetaceans in the Arctic and the potential responses of the International Whaling Commission
- The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment: Implications for the future of Arctic ecosystems
Dr. Burns hopes that his participation in the Arctic Visiting Speakers Program will heighten public dialogue and interest in Arctic environmental issues and will stimulate student interest in pursuing careers in Arctic research.
Jennifer Burns
About:
Jennifer Burns is Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Alaska Anchorage, where she has been since 2000. She earned a B.S. in 1990 in Zoology from the University of California Berkeley, an M.S. in Fisheries in 1993 from the University of Washington, and a Ph.D. in Marine Biology from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Burns’ research focuses on understanding how the age and physiological status of marine mammals influences their diving and foraging capacities, and on how differences in rates of physiological development impact life history traits. Her work on temperate and arctic pinnipeds has suggested that juvenile behaviors are constrained as a result of higher oxygen use rates, smaller reserves, and reduced body size, and that these constraints likely impact growth and survival. Research in Antarctic waters has focused on seasonal shifts in behavior and condition, and overwinter foraging strategies of crabeater and Weddell seals. Recently, her work has expanded to include studies of how nutrition and micronutrients may influence the development, how changes in climate and seasonality may influence life history events, and how different types of environmental knowledge can be integrated to improve local understanding.
Jennifer has served on a number of national committees and organizing groups, including the US GLOBEC Scientific Advisory Committee, The North Pacific Fisheries Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee, the Prince William Sound Regional Citizen’s Advisory Council’s Scientific Steering Committee.
