Onnie Byers

Onnie Byers "earned her Ph.D. in reproductive physiology from the University of Minnesota and completed a post doctoral fellowship at the Smithsonian Institution's National Zoo in Washington D.C. She was a member of the National Zoological Park's Mobile Laboratory Research team, and participated in reproductive studies involving cheetah, pumas, tigers and the giant panda. Onnie joined the CBSG staff in 1991 as a Program Officer and was promoted to the position of Executive Director in 2005. In addition to her role in managing and helping the Chairman, Bob Lacy, to lead the organization, Onnie shares with CBSG's Program Officers responsibility for organization, design and facilitation of Population and Habitat Viability Assessments, Conservation Assessment and Management Plans, and other CBSG workshops. Onnie is dedicated to the transfer of these tools and processes to conservationists around the world through the establishment and nurturing of regional and national CBSG Networks. In addition, Onnie serves on the World Conservation Union's Biodiversity Assessment Sub Committee and on the Conservation Committee of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Onnie and her husband, Steven, a newscaster with Minnesota Public Radio, have two children."

• Executive Director, Conservation Breeding Specialist Group