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For more than thirty years Debra Moskovits has been working in ecology and conservation.  She began her scientific career studying the behavioral ecology of birds, primates, and tortoises—primarily in the tropics. After joining the Museum staff in 1985 she developed public exhibitions on ecology, evolution, and conservation. Debby now leads ECCo, the Museum’s division of science that she helped launch in 1994.

Environment, Culture, and Conservation (ECCo)—a team of scientists, explorers, and educators—is the Field’s academic division that translates rigorous museum science into action for conservation, cultural understanding, and the well-being of people living in and around biologically rich areas. ECCo’s efforts have led to substantial results, including the creation of vast protected landscapes in the most diverse regions on the planet, lasting collaborations with indigenous communities, and broad partnerships for conservation in a vibrant metropolis. In the past eleven years, the Museum’s involvement in South America has led to more than 34 million acres in the Amazon headwaters either protected or well on the road to protection. In Chicago ECCo has fostered long-term partnerships in diverse community to restore globally important nature reserves, deepen cultural understanding, and connect people with nature.

ECCo is an example of the crucial role that The Field Museum plays in meeting pressing challenges of today.

Debby received her B.A. with high honors from Princeton University and her Ph.D. in Biology from The University of Chicago. Her dissertation was on the ecology and behavior of tortoises in Amazonian Brazil.