Media opportunity: Tyler Prize Laureate Lecture

On Earth Day, April 22, 2010, two leading U.S. conservationists and recipients of this year's prestigious Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement —one of the world's first international environmental awards to be established—will deliver public lectures featuring their seminal work in restoring and protecting animal habitats. Both Tyler Prize Laureates are available for interviews.

This year's recipients—Dr. Laurie Marker, Founder and Executive Director of the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia and Dr. Stuart Pimm, Doris Duke Professor of Conservation Ecology at Duke University —are described by the Tyler Prize Executive Committee Chair Owen T. Lind as the "living, breathing heroes of our environment and our animal species on earth." These two conservationists have been honored during the official United Nations International Year of Biodiversity.

Laurie Marker has worked to protect the cheetahs from extinction for 36 years by studying their biology and environment and implementing various measures to minimize their conflict with people. Stuart Pimm, an expert on the science of extinction, has developed a tool that tracks biodiversity hotspots and allows scientists to develop a "roadmap" of next steps in conservation efforts.

WHEN: Thursday, April 22, 2010

2:00 pm-3:00 pm

Reception following

Both laureates are available for interviews.

WHERE: University of Southern California

Davidson Conference Center, Board Room

3415 S Figueroa St.

Los Angeles, CA 90089