Dr. Bruce Young. Photo by Rex Hamilton.
The Guanacaste Dry Forest Conservation Fund (GDFCF) is proud to announce the appointment of Dr. Bruce E. Young as its new Executive Director following the planned retirement of GDFCF's first Executive Director, Eric Palola. After an extensive search, Dr. Young was selected to lead the organization into a new era of growth and innovation, and yet closer collaboration with Área de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG), beginning on 3 February 2025.
Previously, Dr. Young served as Chief Zoologist and Chief Scientist at NatureServe, where he earned international recognition for his contributions to biodiversity and climate change research. He has authored more than 80 peer-reviewed publications, which have been cited over 24,000 times, and was awarded the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Partners in Conservation Award for developing the NatureServe Climate Change Vulnerability Index.
According to GDFCF Founders and Board leaders, Drs. Dan Janzen and Winnie Hallwachs, “Bruce is an excellent leader to guide GDFCF into its next phase. His deep understanding of biodiversity conservation in Costa Rica, scientific expertise, and proven fundraising ability makes him uniquely suited to this role - he gets it."
GDFCF Board Chair Dr. Frank Joyce added: “Bruce is a superb biologist and conservationist. His experience includes doing muddy-boots biology, assessing large scale biodiversity and building teams. The wildlife and wild areas of ACG will benefit greatly from Bruce as Executive Director."
Dr. Young holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Washington. A resident of Costa Rica for over 35 years, he is eager to deepen his commitment to ACG’s unique ecosystems and build upon the pioneering legacy of GDFCF’s founders.
Dr. Young said, “It’s an honor to be handed the baton to help lead the next chapter in GDFCF’s extraordinarily impactful history. Faced with accelerating climate change and numerous other stressors, the ecosystems in Guanacaste and beyond depend on us to work together to manage them effectively.”
ACG Director Alejandro Masís said, "We are confident that Bruce will uphold ACG and GDFCF’s legacy of world-class science done by our parataxonomists, and local and international scientists, to continue generating scientific knowledge for the management of our wildlands.”
Dr. Young succeeds Eric Palola, who has served as GDFCF’s Executive Director for over 12 years. Eric will continue his contributions as a member of the GDFCF Board of Directors and will work closely with Dr. Young to ensure a smooth leadership transition.