Erin Sexton2020Erin’s passion is working at the interface of science and policy to ensure that sound science informs environmental decision-making, in the large landscapes and transboundary rivers of Western North America. Erin enjoys working in collaborative teams, across borders, disciplines and ways of knowing to solve environmental challenges with science-based solutions. At the University of Montana, Flathead Lake Biological Station, Erin’s research focuses on the complex and far-reaching impacts of legacy and proposed mining in transboundary watersheds across Alaska, Idaho, Montana and British Columbia. This work incorporates aquatic and landscape ecology, conservation biology, climate science, and environmental policy in the U.S. and Canada. Her pathways of impact include science communications to media, communities, agencies, decision-makers and students. Erin started in 2000, as a University of Montana MSc student and Kendall Foundation Fellow. Honors include the 2012 American Fisheries Society, Conservation Achievement Award and the 2015 Wilburforce Fellowship in Conservation Science. Erin recently led a 21-author Letter in Science, high-lighting the risks of mines in British Columbia to downstream rivers and communities. All bios are from the year the award was presented.