Dr. Denielle Perry obtained her Ph.D. in Geography at the University of Oregon, USA. She is a geographer of water resources with regional expertise in the United States, Latin America, and Europe. She Directs the Free-flowing Rivers Lab and is an Associate Professor in the School of Earth and Sustainability at Northern Arizona University. Her research examines the political ecology of riverine ecosystem protection and restoration (conservation). She is particularly interested in how conservation policies can be used as climate adaptation policy for resilient riverine ecosystem services as well as for re-Indigenizing water governance. She conducts fieldwork across the Americas, Europe, and Asia, and is a founding member of the Global River Protection Coalition. She advises the River Management Society River Studies and Leadership Certificate and is Co-PI on the NSF-RCN-UBE-RIVER Field Studies Network. Denielle also serves in leadership roles for the American Association of Geographers, the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas Freshwater Specialists Group, and the Wild and Scenic Rivers Coalition. She has published/produced scientific papers, book chapters, films, datasets, and policy resolutions on river conservation, impacts of development on riverine ecosystems, and water resource governance broadly.

Vanessa Correa is a freshwater ecologist and conservationist born and raised in the Peruvian Amazon. Her experiences include scientific research, project implementation and management, and stakeholder coordination. She hold a MS from the University of Central Florida where she studied neotropical fish ecology. She also trained as a biologist at San Marcos University, in Lima, Peru, where she focused on freshwater biology and fisheries. Vanessa has solid international training and experience supporting leading conservation, governmental and research organizations across seven countries in the Americas. Among other things, she has led scientific expeditions and environmental assessments and coordinated community-based monitoring with local peoples. She has worked with the Citizen Science for the Amazon Network as a communities of practice manager. Vanessa is also a board member of the Amazon Waters Alliance, a founding member of the Peruvian Association of Ichthyology (APEICTIO) and a member of the Department of Ichthyology of the Museum of Natural History of San Marcos University. She has leadership roles including vice-president of the Organizing Committee of the 1st Peruvian Meeting of Ichthyology and Aquatic Ecosystems (2022), and co-chair of the Latin America subcommittee of the Global River Protection Coalition (GRPC).

Olga Laiza Kupika is an Associate Professor in Natural Resources Management and UNFCCC registered climate change expert and UNESCO Earth Network Volunteer expert. She is a Senior Research Fellow in Climate Change Adaptation at the Okavango Research Institute, University of Botswana. Olga previously served as a Chairperson in the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation & Chairperson for University Research Committee at Chinhoyi University of Technology, Zimbabwe. She is also an alumnus for the African Group of Negotiators Experts Support (AGNES) Cohort IX, a former EU-DREAM scholarship recipient, a Climate Impact Research Capacity and Leadership Enhancement (CIRCLE), Programme and Climate Research for Development (CR4D) Postdoctoral fellow alumnus, both implemented by the African Academy of Sciences (AAS). Her CR4D project focused on “Building adaptive capacity to mitigate impacts of climate change on riparian ecosystem in a semi-arid savannah environment in Zimbabwe”. Olga serves as board Chairperson for Wildlife Conservation Action, Zimbabwe, board member of the Southern Africa Climate Action Network & Centre for Climatology and Applied Research, and she is the lead for the Natural Resources Governance and Institutions (NRGI) petal under the Production and Conservation in Partnerships platform.

Dr. Adeyemo Adeyemi is a senior lecturer of Environmental Microbiology at Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology, located in Okitipupa, Ondo State, Nigeria, West Africa. Over the past five years, his research has primarily focused on utilizing microbial communities to remediate oil pollution in over 150 riverine communities in the state. These communities are constantly being polluted by oil exploration, which is a significant source of revenue for the nation. Unfortunately, this pollution has rendered the land and water in these communities unsuitable for agriculture and drinking purposes. Additionally, he is a civil society advocate who has accumulated more than 15 years of expertise in utilizing a participatory method to enhance system strengthening, conduct institutional analysis, integrate gender issues, design policies, conduct research, and connect with local communities. He possesses tangible expertise, comprehension, and practical involvement in community participation.

Sharon Nyambura Ruthia, an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya, is passionately committed to advancing gender equality, environmental restoration, and access to justice. With a background in law and a keen focus on marginalized communities, she tirelessly advocates for the eradication of gender discrimination while promoting biodiversity conservation. Sharon has contributed significantly to policy reforms and legislative changes, empowering survivors of gender-based violence, challenging discriminatory laws, and championing equal opportunities in education and employment. As the Chair of the East Africa Region at the Global River Protection Coalition, she leads efforts to conserve free-flowing rivers, collaborating with stakeholders to achieve shared objectives. With extensive experience in legal research, advocacy, and policy development, Sharon is recognized for her dedication to creating a more equitable and sustainable future for all.

Irma Popovic Dujmovic is coming from Croatia, South-eastern Europe region. She has 20 years of experience on working for non-governmental sector in the fields of policy, advocacy, education, and promotion on different topics like freshwater sustainable management, river conservation, public participation, freshwater species conservation and integrated river basin management. She is a biologist/ecologist by her vocation and since early 2000 she is applying her knowledge and passion for freshwater conservation. She started in a national environmental organization (now FoE Croatia), continued in WWF Adria (regional work as a program officer), from the beginning on freshwater issues, since September 2022 she is leading freshwater work in Croatia for TNC.

Sergio Salinas Rodriguez is Mexican biologist from the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (Mexico) with a Master’s Degree in Ecosystems Restoration (Spain) and a Doctorate in Water Resources (Netherlands). His professional experience is in aquatic conservation values, ecological processes, functions and services, and development of rivers and wetlands management, conservation, and restoration strategies. He has coordinated and conducted environmental flow assessments with hydrological and holistic methodologies encompassing more than 50 river sub-basins, 20 capacity-building workshops in Mexico, Latin America and Asia, and given presentations for national and international audiences. Sergio has developed technical reports, (co)authored scientific papers, peer-reviewed manuscripts, and contributed as an expert reviewer for the Second-Order Draft of the Working Group II (WGII) to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6). From 2010 to 2020, he coordinated the Water Program for WWF Mexico, and was a member of WWF’s Water Security Team coordinated by the Global Freshwater Programme. From 2014-2022, he was an external Ph.D. researcher at the Faculty of Civil Engineering & Geosciences, Delft University of Technology. Today he is a Research Associate of the Academic Group on Sustainable Management of Basins & Coastal Zones from the Sustainability Sciences Department in The Southern Border College (El Colegio de la Frontera Sur in Spanish, or ECOSUR).

Dr. Emily Benton Hite earned her PhD in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2021. She completed a two-year National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in affiliation with the Free-flowing Rivers Lab at Northern Arizona University in 2023. Dr. Hite is now an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Saint Louis University and an affiliate faculty at the university's Water Institute. Her research is broadly concerned with the justice and equity of climate governance processes, with a specific focus on local to global decision-making regarding newly proposed hydropower projects. She conducts ethnographic research with dam-impacted communities in the United States and in Latin America, as well as at international climate and hydropower meetings. Dr. Hite is a board member of Save the Colorado, the convenor of the Climate Change Interest Group of the American Anthropological Association, and a scholar with the Climate Social Science Network. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation Fellowship and Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant, the Social Science Research Council's Mellon International Dissertation Research Fellowship, the Tinker Foundation, and the University of Colorado Boulder's Department of Anthropology and the Center to Advance Research in the Social Sciences.

Risa Shimoda serves as the Executive Director for River Management Society (RMS) in its support of federal and state agency staff, private industry, educators, students, river trails and watershed professionals. RMS programs and initiatives include professional development workshops and trainings through the River Training Center; semi-monthly River Management Roundtable meetups; a River Studies and Leadership Certificate offered at over a dozen colleges and universities; the National Rivers Project, a national geospatial database of U.S. rivers categorized as water trails, whitewater rivers and Wild and Scenic Rivers; summaries of hydropower licenses designed to assist stakeholder participation in the licensing process; and river planning tools such as Prepare to Launch!, River Access Planning Guide and Public Access Guide for Landowners. She co-founded the Outdoor Alliance, Cross Watershed Network, and World River Center, parent organization for the International Whitewater Hall of Fame. She has served on the boards of the Conservation Alliance, American Whitewater, and Nantahala Outdoor Center, USA Freestyle Kayaking Committee, Canoe Cruisers Association and Stanford Asian Pacific American Alumni Club. In serving both work and volunteer initiatives as a leader of non-profit groups and collaboratives, Risa has organized and facilitated meetings between and among both friendly colleagues and adversarial stakeholders that have resulted in forward movement.

Angie Fuhrmann, River Training Center Coordinator at the River Management Society, is passionate about collaboration and all things related to rivers. With a Master's of Arts in Anthropology, her journey spans North, Central, and South America where she worked with Indigenous communities along rivers to coordinate technical training. Notable achievements include a research fellowship with the Center for Collaborative Conservation, a Young Explorers Grant from the National Geographic Society's Conservation Trust and a U.S. Forest Service Chief's Award for her contribution to the National Wilderness & Wild and Scenic Rivers Skills Institute. Angie's work is centered around river field skills, Wild and Scenic Rivers, hydropower licensing, river access, restoration, and making rivers inclusive to all. Beyond her career, she enjoys rafting with her black lab, deep sea fishing, and eating tacos.

Ian Harrison obtained his Ph.D. in systematic ichthyology at the University of Bristol, UK. He has conducted research on marine and freshwater fishes from several parts of the world. He is currently the Freshwater Specialist for Conservation International’s Moore Center for Science. He is part of the Steering Committee for the Species Survival Commission (SSC) of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and co-chair of the IUCN-SSC Freshwater Conservation Committee. He is Associate Director for the Free-Flowing Rivers Laboratory at Northern Arizona University. He is based in Flagstaff, Arizona.