September 2010
Sept. 30, 2010 – Dr. Mark J. Plotkin, President of the Amazon Conservation Team (ACT), was recently named a recipient of a 2010 Jane Goodall Global Leadership Award by the Jane Goodall Institute. The award honors an individual who shares renowned primatologist and conservationist Dr. Jane Goodall's values, vision, and commitment to making a positive difference for all living things.
Dr. Plotkin is being recognized for his entrepreneurial-style leadership of The Amazon Conservation Team, which he co-founded in 1996 with fellow conservationist Liliana Madrigal. The Amazon Conservation Team has partnered with 32 Amazonian tribes to map, manage and improve the protection of more than 70 million acres of ancestral rainforest. As a renowned ethnobotanist, Dr. Plotkin has worked with the most ancient and powerful Shamans of the rainforest for much of the past three decades.
"To be recognized by the Jane Goodall Institute is an incredible honor. Dr. Goodall is a dear friend and colleague, and I admire and am personally inspired by the work done both by her and by the Jane Goodall Institute," said Dr. Mark Plotkin, President, Amazon Conservation Team. "This award is a true testament to the hard work of the entire ACT staff who executes the mission of ACT throughout the Amazon every day."
"Mark has worked tirelessly to raise awareness about the plight of our endangered forests, particularly in tropical America," said Dr. Jane Goodall, Founder, Jane Goodall Institute. "And he has been equally tireless in the struggle to help indigenous peoples protect both these forests and their culture. His passion and dedication make him a truly worthy recipient of this award."
The award will be presented Monday, October 11, 2010, during the 2010 Jane Goodall Institute Global Leadership Awards Celebration in Washington, D.C., at The George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium. For more information about the Jane Goodall Institute Global Leadership Awards Celebration and to purchase tickets, please visit: www.janegoodall.org/events/jane-goodall-global-leadership-awards-2010.
About The Amazon Conservation Team
The Amazon Conservation Team was founded in 1996 by renowned ethnobotanist Dr. Mark Plotkin and conservationist Liliana Madrigal. By partnering with indigenous tribes throughout the Amazon to map, manage, and protect the rainforest, ACT ensures the successful protection of the biodiversity, culture, and health of the Amazon's ecosystem-the flora, fauna, and the indigenous people. In March 2008, the Amazon Conservation Team received the Skoll Foundation's prestigious Award for Social Entrepreneurship. Recently, The Amazon Conservation Team was named a 2010 Tech Awards Laureate by Silicon Valley's Tech Museum for their work in Brazil to advance the technology of field data collection in partnership with indigenous communities. To learn more about ACT visit www.amazonteam.org.
About the Jane Goodall Institute
Founded in 1977, the Jane Goodall Institute continues Dr. Goodall's pioneering research on chimpanzee behavior-research that transformed scientific perceptions of the relationship between humans and animals. Today, the Institute is a global leader in the effort to protect chimpanzees and their habitats. It also is widely recognized for establishing innovative community‐centered conservation and development programs in Africa, and Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots, the global environmental and humanitarian youth program, which has groups more than 120 countries. For more information, please visit www.janegoodall.org.
Press Contact:
Jourdan Clandening
Amazon Conservation Team
jclandening@amazonteam.org
703.522.4684
