Announcing Smith Fellows Class of 2026!
The David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellowship is proud to announce the seven members of our 2026 cohort — our largest incoming class to date, selected from a record number of applications submitted this cycle.
The Fellowship is made possible through the longstanding support of the Cedar Tree Foundation, whose ongoing investment in the program has shaped generations of applied conservation leaders. This year, additional funding from Allen Family Philanthropies through our partnership with the Society for Conservation Biology made it possible to expand our incoming class at a critical moment for conservation science. We are deeply grateful for this shared commitment to the Fellowship's mission: creating opportunities for leading conservation scientists to engage in innovative applied research, build productive partnerships, and develop the skills and networks needed to turn science into real-world conservation solutions.
Christina De Jesús Villanueva(she/her) will complete a project titled, “Moving canopy eDNA from hypothesis to practice: Monitoring biodiversity and guiding forest conservation in Puerto Rico and beyond” under the mentorship of Steven Van Belleghem (KU Leuven), Brian Ramos Güivas (Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources) and Lucie Zinger (Centre de Recherche sur la Biodiversité et l'Environnement)
Prashant Ghimire(he/him) will complete a project titled, “Echoes from the Prairie: Developing Conservation Solutions for Declining Grassland Birds in North America” under the mentorship of Kristen Ruegg (Colorado State University) and Sara J Oyler-McCance (USGS, Fort Collins)
Markus Min(he/him) will complete a project titled, “Powering population models with an AI workflow to turn underwater video into conservation insights” under the mentorship of Brice Semmens (University of California, San Diego), Orian Tzadik (NOAA Fisheries) and Rick Nemeth (University of the Virgin Islands)
Tessa Rhinehart(she/her) will complete a project titled, “Using novel acoustic mark-recapture techniques to guide ecosystem-scale forest restoration and species conservation” under the mentorship of Connor Wood (Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology), Craig Thompson (U.S. Forest Service), and Sara Sawyer (U.S. Forest Service)
Jason Toy(he/him) will complete a project titled, “Building Genomic Resilience into Bull Kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana) Restoration and Conservation” under the mentorship of Malin Pinsky (University of California, Santa Cruz) and Benjamin Grime (The Nature Conservancy)
Leon Tran(he/him) will complete a project titled, “Harnessing environmental DNA to overcome population assessment challenges for small-scale octopus fisheries” under the mentorship of Robert J. Toonen (University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa), Erik C. Franklin (University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa), and Heather Ylitalo-Ward (State of Hawaiʻi Division of Aquatic Resources)
Stephanie Valdez(she/her) will complete a project titled, “Beyond target species restoration: evaluating Olympia oyster restoration for impacts to Dungeness crab” under the mentorship of Carter Smith (University of Washington) and Hilary Hayford (Puget Sound Restoration Fund)
The Smith Fellowship seeks to identify and support early-career scientists who will shape the growth of applied conservation science. It’s also an opportunity for scientists to develop solutions to critical environmental challenges. While the Fellows' research projects focus on urgent conservation issues, they also learn firsthand the challenges and rewards of conservation applications. The program's focus is to enlarge their professional opportunities and ensure future success by helping them build relationships in the conservation and research communities and by providing opportunities for professional development through targeted workshops and training events.
The fellowship was established by and named after the late Dr. David H. Smith, founder of the Cedar Tree Foundation, and pediatrician, inventor and conservationist.
Request for proposals for the 2027 Class of Smith Fellows will be announced in spring 2026.
