Dr. Brigitte Baptiste is an internationally renowned Colombian biologist and public speaker on the intersection of biodiversity conservation and gender equity. Dr. Baptiste served as Executive Director of the Alexander Von Humboldt Biological Resources Research Institute for ten years, and currently serves as Rector (Chancellor) of Universidad Ean in Bogotá, Colombia.

Dr. Baptiste’s scholarship, leadership, and advocacy work are rooted in both her formal training as a biologist and landscape ecologist and her identity as a transgender woman, through which she continues to push the boundary of current thought across multiple fields. This has made her a much sought-after public speaker and participant in international policy processes. Dr. Baptiste has held many notable positions in the international environmental arena, serving on the Intergovernmental Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, the Science Policy Advisory Committee for the Inter-American Environmental Initiative for Global Change, and the Scientific Committee of the Global Ecosystem Change and Society Program. She works extensively with the Colombian government to progress towards a carbon-neutral future, and is widely recognized as Colombia’s top biodiversity researcher. She is also active in advancing gender equality and inclusion in higher education and in bringing new insights into sustainability education.