Called the “real life Lorax” by National Geographic and the “Einstein of the treetops” by Wall Street Journal, Meg Lowman exudes a passion for trees and forest conservation. She is an author, explorer, scientist, arbornaut (translation: treetop explorer!), mom, and change-agent for conservation.

She has devoted over 3 decades to exploration and research on treetop secrets, as one of the first pioneers to launch the field of canopy science. Her research on trees takes her to many countries with relatively little scientific infrastructure, where she can make a difference and also mentor girls at every opportunity.

Lowman has published 8 books and over 140 peer-reviewed publications. Lowman has a BA in Biology, MSc in Ecology, PhD in Botany, and Executive Management certificate from Tuck School of Business. She has received myriad prizes including the Margaret Douglas Medal by the Garden Club of America, Roy Chapman Andrews Distinguished Explorer Award, Kilby Laureate, Odum Award for Excellence in Education, and Lowell Thomas Medal by the Explorers Club. Her current priorities include creating a UNESCO world heritage forest site in Malaysia and partnering with Ethiopia’s Coptic priests to save their last 5% remaining forests (that exist in church yards). She served as climate change advisor to the Florida cabinet, journalist at IPCC Cop15, and worked tirelessly on forest conservation to offset climate change.

She believes that senior scientists should not waste energy attending conferences, so is allocating her funds (and energy footprint) to students and young professionals. She does many virtual classroom lectures instead of flying to institutions, and hopes that virtual conferences will gain popularity with academics.