Miami – At the Latin America Program 2024 awards dinner, the Wilson Center launched the Lovejoy Award for Leadership in Environmental Conservation in Latin America, honoring the legacy of the late Tom Lovejoy, a visionary conservationist and champion of tropical forest preservation.
“This award not only celebrates the legacy of one of the greatest advocates for biodiversity, but also empowers the next generation of environmental champions,” Brazilian Environment Minister Marina Silva said. “Lovejoy’s contributions to saving megaforests like the Amazon remain vital for addressing today’s global crises.”
At the Wilson Center gala in Miami, former US Ambassador to Costa Rica Anne Slaughter Andrew highlighted the potentially transformative impacts of empowering young environmental leaders across Latin America–a region that has seen a rapid loss of biodiversity and where the preservation of the Amazon is key to slowing planetary warming.
“We are deeply grateful to the Wilson Center for establishing the Lovejoy Award in honor of our father’s legacy,” Dr. Lovejoy’s daughters, Elizabeth, Katherine, and Anne, said in a statement.
“He would be truly humbled by it. Papa dedicated himself to teaching and mentoring others, always striving to multiply his impact by investing his time in future generations of conservation scientists and environmental policymakers. It is particularly meaningful that this award will go to young individuals who are making a significant difference in conservation efforts across Latin America.”
The Lovejoy Award recognizes emerging leaders under 40 years old engaged in environmental conservation in Latin America, including in Brazil and Colombia. Awardees will include policymakers, scientists, journalists, and civil society leaders who are shaping public policy. The award committee includes prominent members of the conservation and policy community, including former US Secretary of State John Kerry, Wade Davis, Cristián Samper, Avecita Chicchón, and representatives of the Lovejoy family, among others.
Awardees will receive a $10,000 prize and be named a Wilson Center Fellow to spend time in Washington to engage in research and Wilson Center activities, take advantage of mentorship opportunities, and deepen their relationships with global leaders in conservation at US and international institutions. That includes Yale University, where Dr. Lovejoy, the “godfather of biodiversity,” supported the Yale School of the Environment.
Contact: Facundo Robles
Mail: Facundo.Robles@wilsoncenter.org
Latin America Program
The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the Wilson Center’s strength as the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action. Read more
Brazil Institute
The Brazil Institute—the only country-specific policy institution focused on Brazil in Washington—aims to deepen understanding of Brazil’s complex landscape and strengthen relations between Brazilian and US institutions across all sectors. Read more
