EP 52 Former Hawai`i Division of Forestry and Wildlife administrator Lisa Hadway Spain on paving new paths as a woman in conservation leadership

Lisa Hadway Spain has worked in Hawaiian native species and ecosystem conservation and education for more than three decades. She first entered the field as a zoology graduate student studying endangered land snails at University of Hawaii at Mānoa, eventually transitioning to the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Forestry and Wildlife and obtaining the top position as the division administrator overseeing statewide programs. Lisa shares with us her experiences working at the forefront of shifting paradigms in forestry as well as the controversy over critical habitat designation on private lands. Her perspective is that of a woman leadership positions–from working with the rarest dryland species on Hawai`i Island to supporting the intersection of science and Hawaiian culture at `Imiloa Astronomy Center in Hilo.