Executive DirectorPronouns: She/Her/Ella
Louise Misztal joined the Sky Island Alliance team in 2007 and has worked in various positions ranging from volunteering to serving as conservation director. She now serves as our executive director based out of the Tucson office and is committed to crafting creative solutions to pressing conservation issues and building collaboration among diverse partners.
A conservation planner at heart, Louise was the principal architect of a regional climate change adaptation workshop series designed for resource managers to advance understanding of impacts on ecosystems and wildlife. This led to critical new work to survey, protect, and restore fragile spring ecosystems. She was also principal investigator on a project to collaboratively develop a climate-smart landscape conservation design for the Sky Island region, focused on springs, streams, and grasslands.
Louise holds a B.A. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, a B.S. in Microbiology, and an M.S. in Geographic Information Systems, all from the University of Arizona. For her master’s work, she mapped binational conservation priorities for wildlife corridors and habitat protection in the Sky Island region.
In 2015, Louise conducted sabbatical work in Australia, where she met with natural resource colleagues to share methodologies for assessing vulnerability of biodiversity, water sources, and human communities to climate change, and developing responsive science, policy, and adaptation strategies. Revisit Louise’s sabbatical on her blog, ”Springs Down Under.”
When Louise isn’t leading the team at Sky Island Alliance, she loves exploring the Sky Islands: hiking desert and mountain creeks, looking for birds and swimming holes, and seeking out quiet camping spots where she can snooze in her hammock.
Phone: 520-624-7080 x 19
Email: louise@skyislandalliance.org