Sharon Collinge was named Director and Chief Scientist at NEON in early 2018. She is a professor and former director of the Environmental Studies Program at the University of Colorado Boulder. Sharon’s professional expertise centers on how landscape change affects the survival and persistence of native plants and animals. Her current research focuses on the use of ecological theory to guide efforts to conserve and restore vernal pool ecosystems in California. At CU-Boulder, Sharon has taught courses in Conservation Biology, Food and the Environment, Disease Ecology, and Restoration Ecology. Sharon earned a doctorate in landscape ecology from Harvard University in 1995, and in 1998 she became an assistant professor of biology and environmental studies at the University of Colorado-Boulder. Sharon was named a 2004 Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellow in recognition of her outstanding leadership ability and desire to communicate scientific issues beyond academic audiences, and was elected as the Ecological Society of America’s Vice President for Public Affairs in 2011.