Board of Directors

Susan Anderson, Ph.D., Board Member
Susan has been involved with research and conservation in Mexico and Central America for 25 years and is an expert on the biotic regions of northern Mexico. She has worked in The Nature Conservancy’s Mexico Division since 1988. Susan has worked with staff at The Nature Conservancy to develop the process for site conservation planning and to develop a strategic focus for Conservation by Design, an organization-wide conservation planning process. Prior to joining The Nature Conservancy, Susan worked as a researcher in Costa Rica and was an ecologist for the National Park Service, evaluating the environmental impacts of Glen Canyon Dam. She has worked with U.S. federal and state agencies to direct support toward conservation, research, and institution building in Mexico and Africa. Susan has a B.A. in Environmental Biology from the University of California and a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Arizona.

Diana Hadley, President
Diana is president of the Northern Jaguar Project. Now retired as associate curator of ethnohistory and director of the Arizona State Museum’s Office of Ethnohistorical Research at the University of Arizona, she specializes in the history of land use and ecological change in the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico. She has co-authored book-length studies of Aravaipa Canyon, San Rafael Valley, Bonita Creek, the Arizona-New Mexico borderlands, and upper San Pedro Valley. Raised in Arizona, Diana is the former operator of a family ranch. She has served on the board of directors of Native Seeds/SEARCH, the Audubon Research Ranch, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, and the Tucson-Pima County Historical Commission. Diana has organized conferences on grassland restoration, Native American sacred sites, deforestation in the Sierra Madres, prairie dog ecology, and restoration of the Santa Cruz River. She is one of the incorporators of Northern Jaguar Project, Inc. and has served as president since its inception.

Carlos A. López González, Ph.D., Board Member
Carlos has been researching jaguars and other carnivore species in Mexico and the U.S. since 1992. He is co-author of Borderland Jaguars, the most comprehensive analysis of the historic presence of jaguars in the region. Having received his Ph.D. in science from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Carlos is currently a research professor at the Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro. His main interests are in predator-prey interactions, vertebrate community ecology, and the behavior and conservation of large mammalian carnivores. Carlos also works as a research associate for the Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative and the Denver Zoo.

Craig Miller, Vice President
Craig has been an active wildlife conservationist in the Southwest since 1987 and has led Defenders of Wildlife’s regional wolf and jaguar conservation programs as Southwest representative since 1993. He has served on federal recovery teams for the Mexican gray wolf and cactus ferruginous pygmy owl, as well as the steering committee for the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Plan. Craig is a founding member of the Northern Jaguar Project and a former board member of the Arizona League of Conservation Voters. He also serves on the steering committee of the Southern Rockies Wolf Restoration Project, the executive committee of the Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project, and as a conservation fellow with The Rewilding Institute. Craig has a B.S. in Public Administration/Natural Resources from Northern Arizona University and is an alumnus of both the Lesley College Graduate School and the National Audubon Society Expedition Institute. Prior to joining Defenders of Wildlife, Craig worked as an outdoor adventure guide and naturalist.

Oscar Moctezuma, Board Member
Oscar has served as director general of Naturalia, A.C., the non-profit conservation organization headquartered in Mexico City that holds title to the Northern Jaguar Reserve, since its formation in 1990. He was instrumental in obtaining funds from Mexican contributors to purchase Rancho Los Pavos, the first private conservation reserve in Sonora. Oscar is a biologist with more than 20 years experience in the field of Mexican conservation and environmental protection. He is also a fellow of the Ashoka Foundation, an international foundation that supports social entrepreneurs. In addition to the Northern Jaguar Project, Oscar serves on the board of directors of Sky Island Alliance and the Wildlands Project, and he regularly works with binational conservation groups such as The Nature Conservancy.

Peter Warshall, Ph.D., Secretary
Peter has worked for more than 30 years on conservation, biodiversity protection, and community development projects in Africa, Latin America, and North America for the United Nations, USAID, various conservation groups and businesses, and Native American governments. He is considered an expert on the Madrean Sky Island archipelago as well as the endangered Mt. Graham red squirrel. He has worked for the Point Reyes Bird Observatory on migratory bird habitat conservation, and as an elected official, Peter pioneered the conversion of sewerage plant effluent into a bird sanctuary. He serves on the board of directors of the All Species Foundation, Sky Island Alliance, Scientists for the Preservation of Mt. Graham, RES (anthropology), Tallberg Foundation (Sweden, sustainability), World Innovation Foundation, and is a member of the Global Business Network. Peter received a B.A. in Biology and a Ph.D. in Biology and Anthropology from Harvard University. He received a Fulbright scholarship for studies in mammalogy (Ecole de Medicín) and Anthropology (Sorbonne). He edited the environmental sections of the Whole Earth Catalog and its magazines from 1973 to 1996.

Rick Williams, Treasurer
Rick is one of the incorporators of Northern Jaguar Project, Inc. and is a founding board member. He has served as treasurer since the organization’s inception. Prior to the formalization of the Northern Jaguar Project, Rick was a wildlife photographer in the Northern Rockies with works appearing at art shows, regional galleries, the National Museum of Wildlife Art, and Grand Teton National Park’s visitor centers. After becoming familiar with the jaguars of the Southwest, Rick moved from Driggs, Idaho, to Tucson, Arizona, to assist Carlos López González in maintaining his jaguar research and budding conservation project in the Sierra Madre foothills. Rick worked as volunteer organizer and coordinator during the early stages of the Northern Jaguar Project’s development. Today, most of his photographic work is focused on documenting the diverse flora, fauna, and land of the Northern Jaguar Reserve.

Jeff Williamson, Board Member
In 2007, Jeff was named president of the Arizona Zoological Society, a not-for-profit corporation founded in 1961 to operate the Phoenix Zoo as a zoological garden and recreation destination engendering affection for and appreciation of nature. He was CEO/president and executive director of the Phoenix Zoo from 1996 until 2007. Before that Jeff was the zoo’s deputy director for three years. Prior to his work in Phoenix, he was deputy director at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago. Jeff is a life-long conservationist who grew up on farms and has spent his career trying to integrate the interests of people and nature. He is an advocate for sustainable community and is involved with many regional conservation organizations. Jeff routinely speaks to issues of land conservation, water, urban development, children’s programming, and wildlife habitat conservation.