Meet the Team

The Encyclopedia of Life is a global effort to gather and share knowledge about life on Earth. Meet the people who make it possible.

To learn about EOL’s governance click here.

Secretariat 

The EOL Secretariat is responsible for the day-to-day operational management, coordination, and planning of EOL and its working groups. The leader of the EOL Secretariat is the EOL Executive Director, who reports to the EOL Executive Committee. The EOL Secretariat includes executive and operations managers as well as administrative, financial, and communications staff.

Erick Mata
Executive Director
Smithsonian Institution
secretariat AT eol.org 

Bob Corrigan
Director, Product Management
Smithsonian Institution
bcorrigan AT eol.org 

Breen Byrnes
Public Information Officer
Smithsonian Institution
bbyrnes AT eol.org 

Working Groups

Working groups are responsible for the day-to-day management and delivery of EOL component efforts.

Biodiversity Informatics

Nathan Wilson
Director
Marine Biological Laboratory
nwilson AT eol.org

Biodiversity Synthesis

Mark Westneat
Director
Field Museum of Natural History
mwestneat AT eol.org
 

Learning & Education

Marie Studer
Director
Harvard University
mstuder AT eol.org

Scanning & Digitization

Martin Kalfatovic
Director
Biodiversity Heritage Library
mkalfatovic AT eol.org

Species Pages 

Cynthia Parr
Director
Smithsonian Institution
cparr AT eol.org

Executive Committee 

The EOL Executive Committee operates as EOL’s board of directors, focusing on the long-term sustainability and success of the EOL. Members provide governance and decision-making at the policy level. Committee members are senior figures from the cornerstone institutions, regional, national and thematic EOLs, and other major financial or in-kind partners. 

Graham Higley (Chairman) 
Head of Library and Information Services
Natural History Museum
London, UK
[Biodiversity Heritage Library, Chairman]

Jesse H. Ausubel  (Observer)
Vice President, Programs (ex officio) 
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation 
New York, NY, USA

Gary G. Borisy 
Director & Chief Executive Officer
Marine Biological Laboratory
Woods Hole, MA, USA

Joanne Daly
Strategic Advisor
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
Dickson, Australia

Lance Grande
Senior Vice President, Collections and Research
Field Museum of Natural History
Chicago, IL, USA

James Hanken  
Director
Museum of Comparative Zoology
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA, USA

Donald Hobern (Chairman, EOL Council) 
Executive Secretary
Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
Copenhagen, Denmark 

Peter Wyse Jackson
President
Missouri Botanical Garden
St. Louis, MO, USA

Keping Ma
Research Professor of Plant Ecology
Institute of Botany
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Beijing, China

Erick Mata
Executive Director
Encyclopedia of Life
National Museum of Natural History
Smithsonian Institution
Washington, DC, USA

Cristián Samper
Director
National Museum of Natural History
Smithsonian Institution
Washington, DC, USA

José Sarukhán
National Coordinator
The National Commission for Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO)
Mexico City, Mexico

Ismail Serageldin
Director
Library of Alexandria
Alexandria, Egypt

Jorgen Thomsen (Observer)
Director, Conservation and Sustainable Development
John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Chicago, IL, USA

 

Curators

EOL curators work as a team to increase the overall quality and quantity of content on the EOL site. Learn more about the community of EOL Curators.

Technology Providers

EOL works with many technology providers to tackle major challenges associated with creating and supporting EOL infrastructure. Learn more about EOL technology providers.

Interns 

Interns play an important role in EOL's success. The individuals listed below have served as valuable members of our team. 

Caroline Kryder
Intern, Secretariat
Smithsonian Institution 

James Anderson
Intern, Secretariat
Smithsonian Institution

Scott Bradley
Intern, Biodiversity Synthesis
Field Museum of Natural History

Tyler Calway
Intern, Biodiversity Synthesis
Field Museum of Natural History

Marty Christiansen
Intern, Learning & Education
Harvard University

Charlotte Collins
Intern, Biodiversity Synthesis
Field Museum of Natural History

Kathryn Harney
Intern, Biodiversity Synthesis
Field Museum of Natural History

Kelsey Heiter
Intern, Secretariat
Smithsonian Institution

Krista Larson
Intern, Biodiversity Synthesis
Field Museum of Natural History

Nicholas Lilly
Intern, Biodiversity Synthesis
Field Museum of Natural History

Holly Lutz
Intern, Biodiversity Synthesis
Field Museum of Natural History

Kathleen Lyons
Intern, Biodiversity Synthesis
Field Museum of Natural History

Pratima Maiti
Intern, Biodiversity Synthesis
Field Museum of Natural History

Christopher O'Brien
Intern, Biodiversity Synthesis
Field Museum of Natural History

Sara Parilo
Intern, Biodiversity Synthesis
Field Museum of Natural History

Timothy Sauer
Intern, Biodiversity Synthesis
Field Museum of Natural History

Rebecca Taylor
Intern, Learning + Education
Harvard University

Marianna Tzeka
Intern, Biodiversity Synthesis
Field Museum of Natural History

Noah Weisz
Intern, Learning + Education
Harvard University

EOL Partners 

EOL succeeds thanks to the knowledge, creativity, and dedication of a global community of scientists, educators, students, nature enthusiasts, and staff.  Meet the partners who make EOL possible.