Kristeen Penrod

Connectivity Science Specialist II

Kristeen has over 20 years of experience in science-based design of wildlife linkages and working to conserve them on the ground. She got her start in linkage planning as the organizer of the ground-breaking California Missing Linkages conference in November 2000, which brought habitat connectivity to the forefront of conservation thinking in the state. That same year, she founded SC Wildlands, where she worked for over two decades. She has led several collaborative focal species-based connectivity planning initiatives, including the South Coast Missing Linkages Project, A Linkage Design for Joshua Tree-Twentynine Palms Connection, Connectivity Planning for Selected Focal Species in the Carrizo Plain, A Linkage Network for the California Deserts, and Critical Linkages: Bay Area and Beyond. Ms. Penrod was also part of the California Essential Habitat Connectivity Project team, commissioned by Caltrans and California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Internationally, she led the development of the Tanzania Wildlife Corridor Assessment, Prioritization, and Action Plan working with Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism and numerous other stakeholders. She works with transportation and county planning departments to integrate connectivity into their plans and with land trusts, conservancies, and others to conserve land in critical linkages.

Outside of work, Kristeen enjoys hiking, camping, gardening, knitting, and long-distance walks, particularly in the Scottish Highlands.

Education

• B.A. in Geography Environmental Studies-Biogeography Emphasis, University of California Los Angeles. Honors Thesis: Status & Distribution of the Endemic Land Birds of the Northern Channel Islands.