CCSG Leadership

Aaron Laur manages the International Connectivity Program at the Center for Large Landscape Conservation (CLLC) that includes leading contributions as an NGO Member of IUCN, engaging as an NGO Observer to Multilateral Environmental Agreements, and operating the CCSG Secretariat. Aaron previously served as CCSG Executive Officer from 2018-2025 supporting coordination of the IUCN ‘Guidelines for conserving connectivity through ecological networks and corridors’ and WCPA Technical Report ‘Addressing ecological connectivity in the development of roads, railways, and canals’. Additionally, he contributed to establishing CCSG’s working groups, the Wildlife Connect Initiative, and the Global Partnership on Ecological Connectivity. Aaron brings over two decades of international conservation experience to CCSG that has included positions as Executive Officer for the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law, Chief Administrative Officer of the International Council of Environmental Law, and Program Research Coordinator for the IUCN Environmental Law Programme.

Jordan Reeves is Director of Landscape Connectivity at the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y). He works across the United States and Canada fostering collaboration throughout Y2Y’s vast geography, advancing ecological corridors that support safe wildlife movement through voluntary private-land conservation, improved cross-border policy, and durable, multi-stakeholder solutions. Jordan is principal co-author of ‘Scaling Up: Conservation in a Connected World’, the WCPA Issues Paper developed with fellow members of the Large-Scale Conservation Area Task Force. Previously, he served as Rural Advocacy Director for The Wilderness Society, where he led national conservation campaigns and place-based efforts in the Crown of the Continent Ecosystem. He has also held positions with The Nature Conservancy in Idaho and the Washington State Department of Natural Resources and began his career as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Panama. Jordan holds a B.A. in Comparative Politics from the University of California, San Diego and an M.A. in International Development and Social Change from Clark University.

Zhicong Zhao is Deputy Director of the Institute for National Parks at Tsinghua University and Associate Professor and Deputy Chair in the Department of Landscape Architecture, School of Architecture, Tsinghua University. She was a 2025 SPURS Fellow in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). For over a decade, Zhicong has worked on planning, research, and policy advisory related to national parks and protected areas. She has led multidisciplinary teams assessing and strengthening ecological connectivity across China through integrated landscape planning and design. Her work focuses on protected area governance, spatial planning, biodiversity conservation, climate change adaptation, and promotion of human-nature coexistence in and around protected areas. She collaborates closely with China’s National Forestry and Grassland Administration (National Park Service), contributing to national and provincial protected area management and policy development. She has published over 40 academic papers and co-authored six scholarly books on national park and protected area planning, management, and policy. She also teaches university courses in landscape architecture and conservation planning to support training of future professionals in the field.

Gary Tabor is an ecologist and wildlife veterinarian based in Bozeman, Montana in the United States. He served as the first CCSG Chair from 2016 to 2025, to further advance pioneering work led by Dr. Graeme Worboys. Gary has worked on behalf of large landscape conservation for over 35 years in Africa, Australia, Canada, South America and the United States, including as the co-founder of the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, Patagonia’s Freedom to Roam wildlife corridor campaign, and the Network for Landscape Conservation.

Gary is Founder and CEO Emeritus of the Center for Large Landscape Conservation (CLLC). The Center aims to conserve ecological connectivity around the world by uniting and empowering communities to build climate resilience by protecting and connecting ecosystems that sustain humans and wildlife. Gary is also a Professor of Conservation Practice at Cornell University. He serves on the Board of the Global Health Initiative at the University of Wisconsin and as an Honorary Adjunct Associate Professor, in the Division of Biological Sciences at the University of Queensland, Australia.

Gary’s work has been recognized by the International Association of Landscape Ecology with its Distinguished Practitioner Award. Gary is the recipient of the Superintendent’s Award from Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks in the USA.

Jodi Hilty served as CCSG Deputy Chair from 2016-2025. Jodi is President and Chief Scientist of the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative. She is a wildlife corridor ecologist and conservationist, with over 20 years of experience managing large-scale conservation programs. She enjoys applying science-based solutions to complex conservation challenges and works to advance community-based and collaborative efforts.

Jodi was the lead author on IUCN Guidelines for Conserving Connectivity through Ecological Networks and Corridors.  She has also been co-editor or lead author on four recent books, including Corridor Ecology: Linking Landscapes for Biodiversity Conservation and Climate Adaption (2019). Prior to joining Y2Y, she  was Executive Director of the North America Program for the Wildlife Conservation Society. Jodi currently serves on the Board of the Smith Postdoctoral Fellowship. She was born and raised in the Rocky Mountains of North America, and loves to explore the region with her family.