Virginia Zaunbrecher

Virginia Zaunbrecher is the Managing Director of the Center for Tropical Research at UCLA. As a lawyer, a scientist, and a development practitioner, she works at the intersection of scientific evidence, policy, and “practice”—what local communities want and do. She currently focuses on co-designing and testing durable approaches to conserve nature in the tropics, drawing on ecology, climate science, decision science, community engagement, and policy. Her previous work focused on incorporating predictive techniques and decision analysis into chemical regulation. Before joining UCLA in 2013, she designed and managed aid and development projects in Africa and Asia for nearly five years.

Zaunbrecher serves as the Managing Director of the Congo Basin Institute (CBI)—UCLA’s first foreign affiliate located in Cameroon. She collaborates and coordinates with other major regional initiatives, including the Science Panel for the Congo Basin, the Congo Basin Science Initiative, and the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP). She is a member of the Science Definition Team for PANGEA-Earth Observation and the PANGEA Alliance Steering Committee.