Short Bio:
Tulia Defex is a veterinarian from Colombia, and currently a PhD candidate in the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences at Texas A&M University. Back in Colombia she worked at small animal clinics and in the Amazon Rainforest (Amacayacu National Park) creating a rehabilitation and release center for wildlife confiscated and/or injured from illegal trade. She also worked on sustainable development and environmental education issues with local and indigenous communities, such as changing the traditional curriculum of local schools to a more holistic one, which included knowledge of local fauna, as well as the preservation of indigenous traditions. In addition, she worked for the Senate of Colombia, consulting on policies related with farming and agricultural issues. In the U.S. she had worked at veterinary clinics, and volunteered at local wildlife rehabilitation centers and at the Houston Zoo. As a PhD student at Texas A&M, she is working on two research projects. The first project investigates the life history and temporal factors affecting the post-release survival of the endangered, captive-bred Attwater's Prairie Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido attwateri). The second project relates to the development of a long-term landscapes dynamics and human demographics protocol as part of the Inventory & Monitoring program for the Southern Plains Network (U.S. National Park Service).

• Applying the systems approach to environmental questions, Panarchy theory, sustainable development, wildlife conservation, community-based conservation, ecosystems services and the Millennium goals, correlations between socio-economic and environmental interests at the local and international levels.

• Veterinary medicine, wildlife conservation, community-based conservation, sustainable development, landscape analysis.

• Multicultural and interdisciplinary issues, traveling, movies, reading, yoga, belly-dancing, learning Portuguese, and napping in her hammock.

• Defex Resume