Dr. Carena van Riper is an Associate Professor and conservation psychologist in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois (UIUC). She directs a program of research focused on solving social-ecological problems that require an understanding of human behavior. Professor van Riper and her team engage community members in natural resource management contexts to understand how factors enable and constrain adaptations to environmental degradation, particularly through the study of human values. Her research has been sponsored by agencies such as the National Science Foundation, National Park Service, USDA-NIFA, US Forest Service, Great Lakes Fishery Commission, and Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant to solve problems related to climate change, biodiversity conservation, and biological invasions. Professor van Riper serves as Editor for the journal Sustainability Science, Affiliate of the Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology, and a member of the Water Scholars Program in the Institute for Sustainability, Energy and the Environment. She is the recipient of the Arnold O. Beckman Research Award through the University of Illinois Campus Research Board, a College of ACES Research Academy Fellow, and has been been honored on the List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students for creativity and leadership in instruction. Professor van Riper has co-authored over 130 publications, including 80+ peer-reviewed journals articles and two edited books.