Ventura Land Trust will host the next installment of its Environmental Speaker Series, Women in Conservation, 7-9 p.m. Thursday, April 14, at the Museum of Ventura County, 100 E. Main St.

A panel discussion moderated by Melissa Baffa, Ventura Land Trust executive director, will feature Kristine McDivitt Tompkins, Kate Larramendy, and Michelle I. Sevilla, three women who are helping to shape the modern conservation movement in the U.S. and abroad.

Baffa is a biologist and educator who was selected as a 2015 Science Communication Fellow with the Ocean Exploration Trust, She explored the deep sea as part of Robert Ballard’s Corps of Exploration in 2015, 2016 and 2018.

“Our panelists have such a wide range of experience and influence,” said Baffa. “They are examples of women who have navigated barriers to build connections among scientists, environmental advocates, policymakers, and communities, and they’ve made significant contributions to the field of conservation

“Because of their work, others who identify as women can follow in their footsteps.”

McDivitt Tompkins, as president and cofounder of Tompkins Conservation, has worked to protect wild beauty and biodiversity with the conservation of 15 million acres of parklands in Chile and Argentina.

Larramendy is past director of design and sustainability for Toad&Co and trustee of The Conservation Alliance.\

Sevilla, an immigrant from the Philippines who works on local environmental issues and policy in the California State Legislature, is the first network manager of the Central Coast Climate Justice Network.

The audience can ask questions of the panelists in a Q&A session after the panel discussion.

Now in its seventh year, Ventura Land Trust’s quarterly Environmental Speaker Series educates the public about important local and global environmental issues. Women in Conservation is the second of four events in 2022, with upcoming events in June and October.

Environmental Speaker Series events are free to attend, but donations are encouraged. Guests are aksed to RSVP for Women in Conservation at www.venturalandtrust.org/womeninconservation.

For full panelist biographies, visit www.venturalandtrust.org/womeninconservation. Learn more about and become a member of the Ventura Land Trust at www.venturalandtrust.org.