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Alumni Event | IES Abroad Alumni Engagement Presents Earth Day 2021: (Re) Discover Quito and the Galápagos Islands
Ecuador is one of the most culturally and geographically diverse countries in the world. Home to four eco-regions, including the Galápagos Islands. It’s no coincidence that many of the world’s most famous scientists have visited the Galápagos Islands. Now it’s your turn to virtually (re)discover one of the world’s most beautiful and biologically diverse island locations.
Celebrate Earth Day with IES Abroad Quito and Galápagos Islands and learn from featured guests Tania Ledergerber, IES Abroad Quito Center Director, and professors Angelica Ordoñez and Hugo Valdebenito. As this Earth Day event walked us through the diverse communities and eco-regions of Ecuador, and share how the country is striving toward a sustainable twenty-first century.

Tania Ledergerber
Tania has been the Director of the Quito and Galápagos Islands programs since 2018. Tania brings a wide range of international education administration experience. She directed the International Partnership for Service Learning and Leadership Program at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ) and spent 10 years as the Resident Director in Quito for Kalamazoo College. Previously she taught for IES Abroad, instructing our Internship Seminar and Social Science and Community-Based Learning classes at USFQ and Kalamazoo College. Tania has traveled and worked around the world, spending nearly 30 years devoted to NGOs.

Angelica Ordoñez
Angélica earned her doctorate in Social Sciences - with honors - at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (Paris-France). She has worked in various institutions of higher education. She is currently a teacher and researcher at the Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar, in the Area of Social and Global Studies. Her topics of interest are: Gender, political ecology, climate change, socio-natural disasters, social vulnerability, water, environment - society relationship, interculturality and disabilities.

Hugo Valdebenito
Hugo earned his Ph.D. in Botany from The Ohio State University (Columbus, Ohio, USA) in 1990. He subsequently served as Head of Botany at the Charles Darwin Research Station, Galápagos Islands and since 1994 has been Professor in the College of Biological and Environmental Sciences at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Ecuador. His interests include teaching and research in botany, ecology and wildlife conservation on the Flora of the Galapagos Islands and mainland Ecuador, having participated in several national and international meetings being author of more than 30 scientific papers. Hugo has been associated with IES Quito & Galapagos Center since 2007 teaching courses concerning the Environmental Diversity of Ecuador.