Diana Alvira

Diana Alvira is from Santa Fe de Bogotá, Colombia, where she studied biology at the Universidad de Los Andes. Diana is currently pursuing her Masters in Botany at the University of Florida. She enrolled in graduate studies at the University of Florida to strengthen her background in ecology and conservation biology, to broaden her knowledge and understanding of interactions between humans and nature, and to assist her in achieving a more secure research and practical career as a conservation biologist. Diana is particularly interested in applied interdisciplinary research related to biological conservation and rural development in the tropics. So far in her career, Diana has had opportunities to conduct research on both mammals and plants, and has carried out socio-economic and environmental impact assessments. She has also enrolled in courses in experimental design for ecology and conservation biology in Colombia as well as in Costa Rica and Mexico. In addition to her formal studies, Diana worked with a private environmental institution on an environmental impact assessment of oil exploration. Diana then worked with Asociacion La Iguana, an environmental NGO, on a rapid rural appraisal for land policy formulation in the Cravo Sur River Basin in the eastern lowlands of Colombia. Later, she worked with another environmental NGO on a project entitled "Biodiversity Conservation of the Colombian Amazon." Right before Diana started graduate school (October 1998 -December 1999) she was a visiting researcher at the Environmental and Conservation Programs of the Field Museum in Chicago writing field guides of plants and organized a Rapid Reference Collection for Neotropical plants.