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Date & Time

March 12 - April 30, 2025
7:00 pm

Location

Frisch’s Theater, Harold C Schott Education Building

Know Before You Arrive

  • Park in the Education Parking Lot, Gate 1. 52 Erkenbrecher Ave 
  • Have a copy of your ticket available (digital is fine) to scan upon arrival.
  • If you’ve misplaced your ticket(s), please contact [email protected]

This is a Zero Waste Event. Net Zero Waste Partner Sponsored By:

Barrows Conservation Lectures

Celebrate the Zoo’s 150th anniversary at the Barrows Conservation Lecture Series!

Since 1993, the Barrows Conservation Lecture Series has brought a slate of esteemed naturalists and scientists to Cincinnati to address wildlife issues and global conservation efforts.  For more that three decades, the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden has presented its Wildlife Conservation Award to one of its Barrows Conservation Lecture Series speakers.

The Barrows Conservation Lecture Series is made possible by the ongoing support of the family of Winifred & Emil Barrows.

See the 2025 Brochure

Tickets

2025 Series Lineup

Fanny Minesi Photo

Fanny Minesi

March 12
Moreangels

Moreangels Mbizah

March 19
Luis

Luis Paulo Ferraz

April 2
2025 Recipient - Rick McIntyre

Rick McIntyre

April 30

Lecture Descriptions

Fanny MinesiMoreangels MbizahLuis Paulo FerrazRick McIntyre

Bonobos, Matriarchs & Community Conservation: Facing Challenges in Congo

Wednesday, March 12

Fanny Minesi grew up in the Democratic Republic of Congo where she now directs Friends of Bonobos of Congo (ABC), a 30-year-old non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the endangered bonobo and their rainforest home. She manages over 100 staff members between Lola ya Bonobo, the world’s only bonobo sanctuary and environmental education center, and Ekolo ya Bonobo, a 120,000-acre community reserve in the heart of the rainforest. A passionate leader of community-based conservation, Ms. Minesi will share triumphs and heartbreaks in her work with bonobos and with local communities to manage the reserve in this vital and vulnerable landscape. Ms. Minesi received the 2023 Tusk Award for Conservation in Africa.

Lions In Our Midst: Moving from Conflict to Coexistence

Wednesday, March 19

Moreangels, a conservation biologist, works at the critical intersection of conservation and community development. As the Founder and Executive Director of Wildlife Conservation Action, she is dedicated to strengthening the capacity of local communities to protect and coexist with wildlife in a changing climate, while enhancing their livelihoods. With extensive knowledge and experience in community-based conservation, Moreangels focuses on innovative, community driven and local-led strategies to promote human-wildlife coexistence, climate resilience, and socio-economic development in areas adjacent to wildlife habitats. A recognized thought leader, she is a TED Fellow and Speaker who delivered a compelling TED talk titled “How Community-Led Conservation Can Save Wildlife.” Her work on lions in 2018 was featured in a National Geographic short film “One Woman’s Remarkable Journey to Protect Lions.” Moreangels is also a Mandela Washington Fellow and is passionate about inspiring and mentoring Africa’s next generation of conservation leaders.

Golden Lion Tamarin Conservation Program: Past, Present, and Future

Wednesday, April 2

Luis Paulo is a Brazilian Geographer, with more than 30 years of experience working on biodiversity conservation, sustainable development, forests, and environmental issues—largely in South America and Africa—in countries such as Brazil, Ecuador, Guinea Bissau, and South Africa. He has worked for public and non-governmental institutions such as government of São Paulo, WWF-Brazil, and IUCN, among others. Since 2011, he has been the Executive Director of the Golden Lion Tamarin Association, leading their conservation efforts and an interdisciplinary team to save the species from the risk of extinction.

Thinking Like A Wolf: Lessons From the Yellowstone Packs

Wednesday, April 30

2025 Recipient - Rick McIntyreRick McIntyre is a world-renowned wolf behaviorist who has accumulated over 100,000 sightings of wolves in the wild—more than any other researcher on the planet. McIntyre was Yellowstone’s first-ever wolf interpreter responsible for educating the public about the wolves after they were successfully reintroduced to the park beginning in the 1990s. Now retired from the  National Parks Service, McIntyre’s award-winning series of books about the Yellowstone wolves is currently being adapted into a feature film. He has been profiled extensively in the media including by This American Life, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post. He lives in Silver Gate, Montana, where he wakes early to watch the wolves every day, rain or shine.

Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden’s Wildlife Conservation Award

The year 2025 marks the 33rd anniversary of the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden’s Wildlife Conservation Award. Each year, the Zoo invites several of the world’s leading conservationists and scientists to participate in this series and presents its annual Wildlife Conservation Award to one of the speakers.

Past recipients:
1993 – Dame Jane Goodall 2012 – Sharon Matola
1994 – E. O. Wilson 2013 – John Kamanga
1995 – Roger Tory Peterson 2014 – John Ruthven
1996 – Birute Galdikas 2015 – Tico McNutt
1997 – Russ Mittermeier 2016 – Suzana Padua & Claudio Padua
1998 – Richard Leakey 2017 – Craig Packer
1999 – Ted Turner 2018 – Amy Dickman
2000 – Laurie Marker & Cathryn Hilker 2019 – Mike Fay
2001 – Peter Raven 2021 – Patricia Wright
2002 – Wangari Mathaai 2022 – Rob Portman
2003 – George Schaller 2023 – Maggie Dwire
2005 – Cynthia Moss 2024 – Dr. Diana Beresford Kroeger
2006 – David Western 2024 – Dr. Chris Myers & Lynne Born Myers
2007 – Mark Plotkin 2025 – Rick McIntyre
2008 – Robert Kennedy
2009 – Iain Douglas-Hamilton
2010 – Alan Rabinowitz
2011 – Dr. William Conway