Featured Speakers

Mallory Dimmitt

Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation Logo

Opening General Session | Monday, February 23

Mallory Dimmitt, CEO, Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation

United We Stand: How collaborative conservation is connecting Florida

As America approaches its 250th anniversary, join Mallory Dimmitt, CEO of the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation, for an inspiring keynote that explores how the Florida Wildlife Corridor defines who we are and where we’re headed. From the Everglades to the Panhandle, Florida’s landscape tells a story of resilience, connection, and hope. Mallory will take audiences on a journey through the 18 million-acre Florida Wildlife Corridor — a living network where wild and working lands meet, and where collaboration is the key to protecting water, wildlife, and ways of life. Drawing from her deep roots as a seventh-generation Floridian, she will share how important a connected wildlife corridor is to Florida and how the Corridor Foundation brings partners together to accelerate the pace of conservation. 


As the Chief Executive Officer of the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation, Mallory brings knowledge and experience in landscape-scale and working lands conservation, environmental policy, water allocation, and non-profit management. Mallory is proud to have participated in all seven Florida Wildlife Corridor Expeditions and films 2012 – 2024. She was formerly the VP of Strategic Development for Lykes Bros. Inc., a fifth-generation family-owned agribusiness based in Florida. 

Previously, Mallory led The Nature Conservancy’s Colorado Plateau Initiative from Telluride, Colorado. Mallory was also awarded a Doris Duke Conservation Fellowship at Duke University’s Nicholas School of Environment, where she earned a Master of Environmental Management (MEM) in Environmental Economics and Policy. Lastly, Mallory is an alumnus of Class IX of the Wedgworth Leadership Institute for Agriculture and Natural Resources and of Cornerstone Class 39 of Leadership Florida.

General Session | Tuesday, February 24

Leadership Perspectives Amid Change and Shifting Public Lands Priorities

A panel of public lands executives with more than a century of combined experience leading and partnering with the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Land Management will share their perspectives on navigating cultural and political shifts while advancing bold ideas and staying true to mission.
 
Panelists:
• Mike Reynolds, Retired, National Park Service, Deputy Director and Acting NPS Director
• Taldi Harrison, Chief Program Officer, Foundation for America’s Public Lands
• Jenny Anzelmo-Sarles, Communications & External Affairs Executive, National Park Service & U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Additional panelists to be announced
 
Moderator: Amanda Kaplan, Former National Park Service

Dudley Edmonson

Closing General Session | Wednesday, February 25

Dudley Edmondson

Over the last 35 years, Dudley Edmondson has become an award-winning author, established filmmaker, and internationally recognized photographer. His photography has been featured in galleries in Italy and Australia, as well as in publications around the world. Dudley has spent most of his adult life championing nature and highlighting the amazing Black, Brown, and Indigenous people who he feels can serve as environmental and science career role models for people of color around the nation.
 
Mr. Edmondson was one of the first to highlight the involvement of African Americans in the public lands system. Unsatisfied with the representation of people of color among those in his outdoor pursuits, he created a set of outdoor role models for the African American community by writing his landmark book, Black & Brown Faces in America’s Wild Places (Adventure Publications, 2006).
  

While staying busy with various film projects, his newest book People the Planet Needs Now (AdventureKEEN, 2025), which is a Silver Medalist winner in the Nature and Science category from the National Outdoor Book Awards, features 25 BIPOC scientists and activists to help offer inspiration and motivation to affect global climate change.