Professional Profile
I work at the intersection of conservation, community organizing, and research, with over a decade of experience designing and evaluating projects in which human livelihoods and wildlife persistence depend on one another. My work has taken me across Southeast Asia and North America, from elephant-affected farming communities in Thailand to protected-area buffer zones where land-use decisions shape both ecological and economic outcomes. I have secured funding from bilateral donors, foundations, and private investors, and coordinated partnerships that bring together government agencies, NGOs, academic institutions, and the communities these projects are meant to serve. I build monitoring and evaluation systems that take community knowledge seriously alongside quantitative indicators, drawing on participatory methods and adaptive management. I am drawn to problems where equity and ecology intersect, particularly where marginalized communities bear disproportionate costs of conservation or are excluded from its benefits.
Based in Bangkok, Thailand.
Work Experience
I bring over a decade of experience working at the intersection of research, teaching, and hands-on conservation. My work combines participatory methods, applied science, and local knowledge to design community-driven programs that make conservation more just, inclusive, and effective.
Oct 2025 - Present
Consultant, Agronomist and Social Safeguarding
Zoological Society of London
Full-Time
Bangkok, Thailand
I support ZSL Thailand's agroforestry and social safeguarding work in the sWEFCOM landscape of Kanchanaburi Province, where smallholder farmers navigate daily tensions between agricultural livelihoods and wild elephant populations. My role involves translating baseline research from hundreds of farming households into actionable workplans that balance conservation goals with the economic realities farmers face. I lead implementation of ZSL's FAIRER framework, ensuring that gender equity, indigenous rights, and benefit-sharing mechanisms are embedded in project design rather than treated as afterthoughts.
Dec 2022 - Sep 2025
Research & Programs Manager
Bring The Elephant Home
Full-Time
Kuiburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Thailand
I ran conservation programs in southern Thailand that aim to support human-elephant coexistence in shared agro-ecosystems, while promoting climate resilience and sustainable livelihood development. I worked directly with local communities to ensure that projects meet their needs and priorities, and deploy innovative, context-appropriate monitoring and evaluation strategies to track the progress and impact of community-based conservation over time. I enjoy bringing together diverse stakeholders to collaborate and build capacity through participatory approaches, and tackling problems through multidisciplinary research that combines both qualitative and quantitative methods.
Lecturer & Instructor
The University of Colorado
Full-Time
Aug 2021 - Present
Boulder, Colorado, USA & Remote
I researched how climate adaptation policies, such as flood buyouts and sea-level rise planning, affect people differently in New York’s coastal and riverine communities. Our team published research examining the challenges of nature-based solutions and proposed ways to promote equity and inclusivity in community climate adaptation. As part of that work, I helped create a toolkit to evaluate climate programs through an environmental justice lens, examining who benefits, who is left out, and how decisions are made.
Aug 2022 - May 2023
Researcher – Climate Adaptation
The Nature Conservancy
Contract
Boulder, Colorado, USA [Remote]
I researched how climate adaptation policies, such as flood buyouts and sea-level rise planning, affect people differently in New York’s coastal and riverine communities. Our team published research examining the challenges of nature-based solutions and proposed ways to promote equity and inclusivity in community climate adaptation. As part of that work, I helped create a toolkit to evaluate climate programs through an environmental justice lens, examining who benefits, who is left out, and how decisions are made.
Education
Aug 2021 - May 2026
The University of Colorado
Doctoral Degree (PhD)
Environmental Studies
Aug 2019 - May 2021
Colorado State University
Master’s degree (MS)
Global Conservation Leadership
Aug 2010 - May 2014
Texas A&M University
Bachelor's Degree (BS)
Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences
Professional Skills
Research & Data Analysis
Mixed Methods
Data Cleaning
Ethnography
Hypothesis Testing
Statistical Inference
Adaptive Learning & Management
Systems Thinking
Camera Trapping
Statistical Modeling
Data Visualization
Monitoring & Evaluation
Survey & Interview Admin
Project & Program Management
Strategic Planning
Team Leadership
Budget Management
Cross-Sector Collaboration
Problem-Solving
Donor Compliance & Reporting
Risk Assessment
Communication
Expertise
Human-Wildlife Interactions
Environmental Justice
Social-Ecological Systems
Community-Based Conservation
Smallholder Farming Practices
Climate Adaptation
Sustainable Livelihoods
Resilience & Vulnerability
Languages
🇪🇸 Spanish
Conversational proficiency
🇹🇭 Thai
Elementary proficiency
🇬🇧 English
Native proficiency
Honors & Awards
Graduate Research Award
The University of Colorado
PhD Research
Jan 2025
Best Should Teach Award
The University of Colorado
College Teaching
May 2023
Research Fellowship Award
Society for Conservation Biology
PhD Research
Feb 2023
The Explorers Club - 2025 Inductee
Nov 2025
Invited Talks & Presentations
International Congress for Conservation Biology
Brisbane, Australia
Oral Presentation
Title: What is "fair" in human-elephant conflict? Understanding local community experiences, monitoring mitigation, and finding solutions through environmental justice.
Jul 2025
Pathways Europe, HWI Conference
Córdoba, Spain
Oral Presentation
Title: Systems of change: Human-elephant experiences in dynamic agroecosystems.
Oct 2024
SCB Social Science Working Group Conference
Online
Oral Presentation
Title: Just Coexistence? Navigating Human-Elephant Interactions in Kuiburi, Thailand, through Environmental Justice
Nov 2024
19th International Elephant Conservation & Research Symposium
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Oral Presentation
Title: Systems of change: Human-elephant experiences in dynamic agroecosystems.
Nov 2023
Recommendations
Emma Galofré García
Research Collaborator & Wildlife Ecologist
I have gotten to know Tyler as a colleague through our time as members of the WELS Group at CU Boulder. Tyler’s research on human-elephant conflict in Thailand is truly inspirational. Tyler has taken such care to approach conservation and research in a way that centers and advances community needs and knowledge, equity, and justice in order to address the underlying causes of many of our conservation crises. Consequently, Tyler is becoming a leader and transformative member of the conservation community. Without a doubt, Tyler will be an asset to any project or role that he has the opportunity to contribute to. I’m excited to see how Tyler’s career advances and the successes he brings to conservation work into the future.
Akaraphum Pisanwanich
Research Assistant & Project Manager at Bring The Elephant Home
I had the privilege of working under the guidance of Tyler as a Research Assistant for two years. During this time, Tyler played a pivotal role not only in leading impactful field-based social science research but also in fostering a supportive and collaborative working environment. Under his mentorship, I worked closely with international researchers to carry out culturally sensitive and methodologically rigorous data collection in rural communities. My responsibilities included administering household surveys, conducting interviews, translating materials and communications between Thai and English, and coordinating logistics with local authorities. Tyler’s thoughtful leadership and deep commitment to ethical, community-engaged research consistently ensured that our work was both meaningful and respectful to the communities involved. His ability to manage complex projects while remaining approachable and inclusive made a lasting impression on me, and I credit much of my professional growth during that period to his mentorship and example.
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