Leah Gerber

After completing her Ph.D., Gerber pursued a career in academia and conservation science. Her research has encompassed topics from assessing population viability and species recovery to incorporating economic considerations into conservation planning. Her research has produced insights into the effective allocation of limited resources for conservation efforts; the evaluation of conservation interventions, and the identification of priority areas for biodiversity conservation.[22]

Gerber has published over 150 peer-reviewed publications.[21]

Gerber was recognized as a Tenure Exemplar Professor at Arizona State University in 2006.[23] She is an Affiliated Scholar of Arizona State University's Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes[24] and serves on the Arizona State University President's Council on Women in Leadership. She became a Full Professor in 2013 and established the Arizona State University CBO in 2014.[3] The Center works with researchers from across the university, looking to encourage discoveries that conserve and sustain biodiversity and link those innovations to decision-making.[2] She has also established new approaches for academic and public engagement[1] and is a National Science Foundation Science of Science and Innovation Policy program grant holder.[25]

One of Gerber's notable contributions to the field of conservation biology is her development of quantitative methods for decision-making in conservation. Gerber has developed approaches to conservation and management such as conservation priority setting, ecosystem-based management, adaptive monitoring and management, endangered species recovery plans, and estimating extinction risk. She combines theories of behavioral ecology with quantitative approaches of demography to examine how reproductive behavior impacts the extinction risks for marine mammals.[26] In this work, she has focused her research on the importance of biological uncertainty in environmental decision-making.[22]

Gerber has worked to bridge the gap between science and policy-making processes. She has served as an advisor and consultant for governmental and non-governmental organizations, providing guidance on conservation strategies, biodiversity management, and environmental policy.

Gerber has been an advocate for evidence-based decision-making and has collaborated with policymakers to develop science-informed policies and regulations. Her efforts have contributed to the development of sustainable conservation practices and the protection of vulnerable species and ecosystems. In 2021 she provided expert testimony for U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works in a hearing, “Examining Biodiversity Loss: Drivers, Impacts, and Potential Solutions.”[27]

In collaboration with The Nature Conservancy, she produced a handbook designed to teach field biologists how to make use of population and demographic analysis.[28] She has also analyzed the health and sustainability of seafood,[29] and organized a series of events to educate the general public in how to make more sustainable choices. In 2019, she was recognized as a pioneer in recovering the endangered white abalone by establishing a restoration program.[15]

Gerber served on the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services[30] and coauthored the global assessment of biodiversity, evaluating the world's status in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals, Aichi Biodiversity Targets and Paris Agreement.[31] In recent years, she has expressed concerns regarding the impact of the Trump Administration on the United States Environmental Protection Agency as well.[7][32]

In 2017 Gerber moved to Ecuador as a Fulbright Program scholar in the Universidad San Francisco de Quito.[33] Here she looked to understand how local people promote and protect biodiversity. She focused on incentives to protect wildlife in the Galápagos Islands and was awarded a grant from the Lenfest Ocean Program in 2019 to work with the Galápagos National Park to effectively manage the Galápagos Marine Reserve.[34][35][36]

While governmental funding is available to protect biodiversity, it is insufficient and not distributed evenly amongst different species;[37] Gerber showed that more than a quarter of investment into protecting species goes to only 139 plants and animals in the US.[5][38] She has worked with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to create a tool to compare funding allocations and the consequences of resource allocation strategies.[39] The Recovery Prioritization Explorer[40] was created as part of a SESYNC Endangered Species Act Decision Support Venture.[41][8][42]

In addition to her research and policy work, Gerber has served as a Professor and Supervisor at ASU since 2001.[43]