Background and vision statements

Chair

David Bloom - VertNet, Berkeley, CA, USA

Background

I have been the VertNet project manager since 2010, with 15 years of prior experience working in natural history and science museums. Currently, I am the VertNet Node Manager to GBIF (since 2016), serve as the GBIF Regional Representative for North America and support the global biodiversity community of practice as a guide, trainer, mentor, and Open Data Ambassador. I work with data publishers and biodiversity-focused projects in every global region. My participation with TDWG is closely tied to my work with VertNet and GBIF, with contributions to the maintenance of the Darwin Core, the creation of the Latimer Core, and participation on several work and interest groups since 2016. I have conducted more than 70 workshops globally on biodiversity informatics ranging from georeferencing to data publishing and the use of biodiversity data.

Vision

As a professional (and a not-so professional) I have devoted my time and effort to the discovery, development, and implementation of tools, services, and solutions to make the lives of people who work with, and learn about, biodiversity data more productive and efficient. As Deputy Chair of TDWG I intend to continue these efforts and to focus my activities on TDWG’s on-going initiatives. I am keen to understand and apply the lessons learned about participation in and collaboration through TDWG during the Covid years. In particular, I want to focus on the ways in which TDWG engages with the community to share knowledge and get work done. I want to retain and expand the participation of people online while respecting the time and money of those people able to participate in person so that we can make the most of both of these communities. I am especially interested to find ways to help TDWG value the efforts of those individuals and groups that do the work to develop, maintain and expand the standards that bring us all together. Finally, I believe it is in the interest of the TDWG community to find ways to engage with traditional, indigenous and local knowledge holders and to find ways to further integrate their perspectives, needs, and experiences into TDWG workflows and products.

Deputy Chair

Elie Saliba - Beirut, Lebanon

Background

I am a Lebanese-French systematic biologist and taxonomist specializing in biodiversity informatics, with a particular focus on the integration, management, and interoperability of taxonomic and nomenclatural information. My work centers on improving how biodiversity data systems represent, link, and validate scientific names, taxa, and related entities, ultimately enabling researchers and institutions to work with cleaner, more consistent, and more actionable data.

I completed my Ph.D. at Sorbonne Université and the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris, where my thesis examined how zoological nomenclature processes can be modeled and computerized. I discovered the BIS-TDWG community during my first year as a PhD student and never left. After my doctorate, I joined the national e-COL+ project as a postdoctoral researcher, working at the intersection of natural history collections and artificial intelligence to explore how machine-based approaches can support the digitization and interpretation of collection data. I also worked as a communication officer at GBIF France and participated in the ongoing alignment of GRSciColl and the French National Natural Collections infrastructure.

I am the current Co-Chair of the TDWG Partnership & Funding Subcommittee, and a member of the Latimer Core Maintenance Group. I participated in the French-Spanish Plinian Core pollinator CESP. I’m also responsible for the recent translations of Latimer Core and most of Darwin Core into French. I’ve been regularly teaching biodiversity informatics, database management, and zoological nomenclature in France and internationally, including talking about TDWG standards and their applications for several years.

Vision

I am committed to advancing a more open, FAIR, connected, and globally inclusive biodiversity informatics landscape. My priorities cover two key areas. First, I want to increase the visibility and adoption of TDWG standards by addressing language barriers and promoting biodiversity informatics in underrepresented regions—particularly the Middle East and North Africa. Second, I believe TDWG should better recognize and support the volunteers whose dedication sustains our community while also streamlining the processes for ratifying and updating standards in ways that respect everyone’s volunteer capacity.

TDWG has provided me with a warm and welcoming environment as an early-career researcher, where more experienced colleagues generously share their knowledge and insight. I want to help preserve and strengthen this culture of mentorship and collaboration, as I believe it is fundamental to TDWG’s strength and long-term success.

Secretary

Visotheary Ung - Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France

Background

I am a biologist by training, I have a masters degree in population genetics but started my professional career at the CNRS (French national center of scientific research) working as a network and systems administrator for 7 years. In 2007, I came back to my first love in science: Systematics, and in 2008 started to attend TDWG meetings as the scientific communication officer for the Xper research group in Paris. In that role, I had the chance to be involved in European projects (EDIT and ViBRANT) which showed me that collaborative work is the key to success. At the same time, I started a PhD on Southeast Asian biogeography and methodology for comparative biogeography which I defended in 2013. I am now a biodiversity informatics project manager and biogeographer based at the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris.

I am French and grew up in Paris, but was born in Phnom-Penh (Cambodia). I am very proud of my dual culture, which I see as a richness and I am convinced of its good influence on me. Being part of two different cultures, two different worlds has taught me that it is always possible to build bridges, to bring people together. This is exactly what TDWG is about: to bring together biologists, scientists and developers with the purpose of providing the whole community with standards, best practices and tools.

Vision

My first TDWG meeting was in 2008 in Fremantle and I have not missed one ever since. I am thrilled to be more involved in TDWG activities. As Secretary, I will focus on maintaining good communications within our community: among the Executive Committee, members of TDWG Interest and Task Groups and users of TDWG standards.

I see my role as a connecting hub between everyone, providing clear communication about our processes (creation and use of TDWG standards) and documentation. I have a will to support all members of the Executive Committee, especially our chair and hope to be a good proxy.

I strongly believe that standards are essential to improve biodiversity data sharing and implementing interoperability of software and systems. TDWG standards have been key to my own research and I will continue pushing forward their use within my research community, locally at the Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle and on a larger scale to the French scientific community.

Treasurer

Chandra Earl - National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), Arizona State University, USA (residing in Maryland)

Background

I currently work as a biodiversity informatician for the U.S. National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) and primary software developer for the NEON Biorepository portal, ensuring implementation of FAIR principles in data management, quality, integration and access of NEON biodiversity and sample data. In previous lives, I’ve held a consultancy contract with OBIS as an eDNA scientific officer and held the Joshua M. Copus Memorial Fellowship at the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum in Honolulu, Hawai‘i.

I received my graduate degree in Genetics & Genomics from the University of Florida, where my dissertation research focused on building tools for “big data” biodiversity analyses, specifically genomics, machine learning and diversification metrices. Due to this, I maintain an ongoing Research Affiliation with the Florida Museum of Natural History.

The theme of my personal research is focused on large-scale biodiversity data and analyses using natural history collections and as such I have broad experiences with developing pipelines for phylogenetics, bioinformatics, machine learning, geographic modelling, and digitized specimen mobilization. I enjoy research collaboration and have contributed to various biodiversity initiatives spanning across taxonomic scales, including insects, mollusks, plants, mammals and fish. One day I’ll get to birds and herps….maybe.

Vision

Although I’m an acting member of a handful of professional societies, biodiversity information is ‘home’. As Treasurer of TDWG, I aim to use my experience within TDWG and connections with other societies to establish a transparent, efficient, and sustainable financial framework that ensures TDWG’s long-term success. I am keen on seeing TDWG evolve into an organization with solid financial health through strategic partnerships, grants, and fundraising, ensuring that we can continue to grow and support all members of the community.

Subcommittee chairs

Technical Architecture Group

Ben Norton - Independent; Raleigh, NC, USA

Background

As a dedicated, mission-driven, and determined individual, leading efforts that turn ideas into realities through technology has been a central theme of my career since the very beginning. The Technical Architecture Group chair position is at the apex of this endeavor. The TAG is an engine of progress, ingenuity, and support that impacts activities across the TDWG organization. The opportunities to extend this pivotal role are immense.

Over the past 15 years, I have chartered an Interdisciplinary and multi-functional career path at the intersection of science and technology. Today, this pathway has materialized into an extensive technical skill set with domain expertise in several scientific fields in both an academic and professional capacity. I’ve built dozens of data-driven, web-based technologies across numerous scientific disciplines, including online search portals, data publishing platforms, and small and large-scale collections management systems.

In 2020, I became an active member of TDWG. Three years later, I’m the current deputy chair of the Technical Architecture Group, co-convener of the Mineralogy Extension Task Group, review manager of Latimer Core, and contributor to Minimum Information about a Digital Specimen (MIDS) and Camtrap DP. I’ve had the honor of publishing best practices guides, presenting and hosting symposiums at annual conferences, and providing technical guidance to efforts across the organization. In collaboration with the current TAG chair, I’m developing tools to streamline the publication of standards documentation in tandem with the existing RDF TDWG workflow. This effort has immense potential to improve the organization’s operations for years.

Vision

I envision a more significant and strategic support role for TAG with a prioritization of the following ongoing efforts:

1. Assure that the work initiated and led by the current chair continues and, where possible, see the activity through to completion.
2. Expand the TDWG Technical Recommendations, beginning with two best practice guides that address the use of complex values and SKOS mappings in data standards.
3. Deploy an automated tool for generating web-based standards documentation that operates in tandem with the current RDF workflow.
4. Develop a strategy to provide targeted support to individual Task and Interest Groups within the current confines of TAG member obligations.
5. Complete the reorganization of current and past data standards under the stewardship of TDWG.
6. Continue to broaden and diversify TDWG membership, focusing on underrepresented populations and gaps in domain expertise.

Fundraising and Partnerships

Patricia Mergen - Botanical Garden, Meise, Belgium

Background

I have been involved with TDWG since 2002 and familiar with biodiversity data since working on my PHD, notably via Fishbase. I would be honored to continue my role as Chair of the Partnership and Fundraising committee. I have been appointed as temporary Head of Delegation representing Belgium in GBIF in 2025, and part of the TDWG delegation to GBIF. In GBIF, I am part of the GBIF trainers and mentors network, and the translator group for French, where training on TDWG standards is a prominent part. I have been involved in many TDWG and GBIF related activities encouraging data provision to GBIF and contribution to standards development, including updates of my own institutions, and also in the networks where I represent them, or for Belgium internationally, such as the Research Infrastructure DiSSCo (Distributed System of Scientific collection), the CETAF (Consortium of European Taxonomy Facilities), BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library) and EOSC (European Open Science Cloud). I also have extensive experience participating in externally funded research projects (e.g., EU Cooperation and Development, and JRS Biodiversity Foundation). and have participated in several projects where TDWG and GBIF are partners or contributors, such as BICIKL, SYNTHESYS, and DiSSCo-related projects. Finally, I have worked with African partners in GBIF BID projects where TDWG standards are used.

Vision

Growing from this international experience, my vision for TDWG is to sign more cooperation agreements with important TDWG stakeholders following this year’s MoU with the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN). With my experience in fundraising and opportunity seeking, I will seek funding for TDWG in projects to support TDWG standards development and usage. Important other funding needs are mobility grants for participation in our events and support the organization of the conferences. To have good geographic coverage at our conferences, collaboration with the TDWG’s regional representatives is essential.

Infrastructure

Tim Robertson - Global Biodiversity Information Facility Secretariat, Copenhagen, Denmark

Background

I currently act as the chair for the Subcommittee for Infrastructure and – along with the members of the group – wrote the current mission and responsibilities of the group which I believe are still relevant.

During my time leading this group we have reworked the TDWG website and assisted TDWG in reorganizing its activities to make maximum use of GitHub.

I am Deputy Director and Head of Informatics at the GBIF Secretariat, and we accommodate TDWG needs within the role of our team which includes the operation and updating of mailing lists, websites etc.

A (deliberately modest) vision

The TDWG community require a stable and simple infrastructure that is intuitive to use. The recent adoption of GitHub for the working groups and website content, along with the mailing lists, tools for conference registration and our journal partnership are – in my opinion – the correct level of infrastructure for TDWG to operate effectively. I see the current role of the committee to continue ensuring the existing processes operate smoothly and be ready to explore emerging needs, but do not see it necessary to make significant changes at this point.

Outreach and Communications

Nicky Nicolson - Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, UK

Background

I worked for about fifteen years in a variety of software development roles at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew [1] helping researchers and curators manage and mobilise scientific information. Effectively this was a research software engineer role [2], it just predated the term. Ten years ago I switched from the technical track into research, where I completed a doctorate in machine learning, applying density based clustering to our digitised specimen data to identify collectors, expeditions and related specimens gathered from a shared collecting event [3]. I took software development practices with me - things like revision control, dependency management, build automation and continuous integration - to help manage the research process. My work was applied in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal where it helps users navigate between related records [4]. Now I’m senior research leader in digital collections at Kew. We are nearing the end of our specimen digitisation project [5], and I’m interested in how we can use our digitised specimen data to build the “digital extended specimen”, and how we do this in an open and inclusive way. I am developing a toolkit called “echinopscis: an extensible notebook for open science on specimens” [6], which was partly supported by Open Seeds [7], an open science mentoring and skills development programme.

I’ve been involved in TDWG throughout my career, and none of my work would have been possible without the data standards and the community of practice that TDWG has fostered.

Vision

In the past couple of years I have started to work much more closely with the open science community. One crucial distinction that they emphasise is between initiatives which are “open by default” vs those which are “open by design” [8]. As the latter is more intentional, it ensures that participation information is made explicit via resources like roadmaps, contribution guidelines and codes of conduct, all of which help new people to become involved. I see these practices as small steps which we can encourage in TDWG affiliated projects to help grow the community and make it more inclusive.

I would like to help us build better links between our community and those who are working on software sustainability. In the UK, the software sustainability institute [9] was instrumental in getting the research software engineer job title recognised by funders; today there are RSE networks worldwide [10]. Many in the TDWG community perform RSE-like roles and integrating with these networks can help raise visibility for these roles with our funders. A similar effort is underway to ensure that roles which are focussed on data curation are recognised [11]. Building these links will help develop skills, build new collaborations and grow the community.

Communication: Keeping in touch with TDWG members and reaching out to new ones is important, and social media has been a key communication tool. This is an evolving landscape, particularly as many step back from Twitter. I would like us to first refresh our LinkedIn profile [12], as many more people are using this platform, and then review potential use of other microblogging platforms like mastodon, bluesky and threads. We should use these channels to share details of relevant events and outputs throughout the year, as well as to promote our annual meeting. I would also encourage TDWG members to complete github profile pages [13] so that the full extent of our community is visible. As more of us are starting to work with artificial intelligence and machine learning, I’d also like to build a TDWG profile on HuggingFace [14], the community hub for sharing models, datasets and application prototypes.

References

1. Kew science: https://www.kew.org/science
2. Are you a research software engineer? https://society-rse.org/what-is-an-rse/
3. Automating the construction of higher order data representations from heterogeneous biodiversity datasets https://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/19620
4. New data-clustering feature aims to improve data quality and reveal cross-dataset connections https://www.gbif.org/news/4U1dz8LygQvqIywiRIRpAU/new-data-clustering-feature-aims-to-improve-data-quality-and-reveal-cross-dataset-connections
5. Kew specimen digitisation https://www.kew.org/science/digitising-kews-collections
6. echinopscis: an extensible notebook for open science on specimens https://echinopscis.github.io/
7. Open seeds: https://we-are-ols.org/openseeds/
8. Mozilla open leaders initiative participant review (includes section on open by default vs open by design) https://heatherburns.tech/2019/05/01/what-i-learned-in-the-mozilla-open-leaders-initiative/
9. Software Sustainability Institute: https://www.software.ac.uk/
10. International RSE communities: https://society-rse.org/international-rse-organisations/
11. People in Data: https://www.turing.ac.uk/research/research-projects/people-data
12. TDWG (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/groups/993557/
13. Managing your profile README: https://docs.github.com/en/account-and-profile/setting-up-and-managing-your-github-profile/customizing-your-profile/managing-your-profile-readme
14. HuggingFace: https://huggingface.co/

Time and Place

Kristen “Kit” Lewers - University of Colorado Boulder and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, USA

Background

My path into biodiversity informatics began during my undergraduate research in Yellowstone National Park, where I first saw how ecological understanding depends not only on fieldwork but also on the coordinated efforts of many people and institutions. This realization shaped my career around the intersection of biodiversity science, technology, and collaborative infrastructure.

I am now a PhD candidate in Information Science and Interdisciplinary Quantitative Biology at the University of Colorado Boulder and a NASA FINESST fellow working mainly with NASA GSFC (Goddard Space Flight Center) and collaborating with NASA JPL (Jet Propulsion Lab) for work on Advancing Earth Science and Biodiversity Informatics through Event-Driven, Modular Workflows. My scholarship is deeply sociotechnical: I study how communities manage information overload, how standards and infrastructures evolve, and how organizations cooperate while maintaining autonomy. My work blends HCI (human–computer interaction), governance, software engineering, and image spectroscopy to understand how data systems and the people behind them work together across institutions and scales.

In parallel, I serve as a NEON Airborne Observation Platform ambassador, work in the commercial space industry, and manage a drone program with the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary, roles that reinforce my commitment to building bridges between technical systems and the collaborative networks that sustain them. Across all of my work, I focus on strengthening the human and institutional relationships that make data-driven science possible.

Vision

Over the past two years as Time and Place Committee Chair, my focus has been on relationship-building, strategic planning, and ensuring that TDWG meetings reflect our values of accessibility, global representation, and community cohesion. Working closely with our partners in Norway to prepare for TDWG 2026, and with colleagues across GBIF, GEO BON, and OBIS during the Living Data 2025 joint conference development, I’ve seen firsthand how thoughtful collaboration and early, trusted partnerships can elevate TDWG’s impact and visibility.

My vision for the next term is to build on these foundations and expand TDWG’s presence in a way that better serves our global community. I aim to:

1. Strengthen international partnerships for future conferences.
   TDWG thrives when we co-create with host institutions. I am committed to cultivating strong relationships with governments, research organizations, biodiversity networks, and any other necessary parties to support long-term planning and impactful conference programming.
2. Explore a regional “hub-and-spoke” meeting model.
   As TDWG continues to grow, we have an opportunity to experiment with distributed regional meetings that complement the annual global conference. This model can increase accessibility, support local capacity building, and bring TDWG’s standards conversations closer to underrepresented communities.
3. Continue enhancing accessibility, equity, and sustainability in conference planning.
   Through data-driven site selection, hybrid participation models, and strong local partnerships, we can ensure that TDWG events remain welcoming, feasible, and globally inclusive.
4. Further integrate TDWG’s culture into international research communities.
   One of the most rewarding aspects of Time & Place work has been representing TDWG externally and bringing our collaborative ethos into new spaces. I will continue championing TDWG as a vibrant, trusted community within the global biodiversity informatics landscape.

TDWG meetings are more than events, they are pillars of our community. My goal is to continue building conference environments where connection, collaboration, and shared purpose can thrive for years to come.

Regional Representatives

Africa Representative

Brice Djiofack - Independent, Brussels, Belgium

Background

I was born and raised in Cameroon, where I obtained an MSc in Plant Ecology from the University of Dschang in 2014. I then pursued a second MSc in Bioscience Engineering at the Université catholique de Louvain (Belgium), where my research focused on the growth performance of Pericopsis elata, an iconic timber species of Central and West Africa, in a historical research experiment in Yangambi (DR Congo). After graduating in 2018, I worked for over three years as a junior expert in local development, providing technical support to partners and community-based organizations, conducting forest research, and delivering capacity-building services in Yangambi/Kisangani (DR Congo) as part of the FORETS project. In July 2021, I began a PhD at Ghent University within the PilotMAB project, coordinated by the Service of wood biology of the Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA). (PhD completed in May 2025.) My research focuses on defining and implementing forest management and restoration strategies that enable forests to absorb atmospheric CO 2 at levels higher than those observed in natural forests in central Africa.

Vision

My vision for the next term is to deepen my understanding of TDWG and to explore how these resources can benefit the African community. Thus, I envision identifying opportunities in which the TDWG’s tools and knowledge can strengthen local bioversity initiatives, support data sharing among institutions, and enhance capacity building, thereby contributing to more inclusive and impactful conservation efforts across the continent.

Asia Representative

Daphne Z. Hoh - Taiwan Biodiversity Information Facility, Taipei, Taiwan

Background

I have been trained as a marine scientist since completing my BSc and PhD studies. My research focused on sea turtle conservation, with a specific emphasis on fungal infections in sea turtle eggs and sea turtle’s foraging ecology. My research has spanned various aspects of this issue, including pathogen genomics and pathogenicity, utilising high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics methods. I co-founded TurtleSpot Taiwan, a citizen science initiative that collects sea turtle sightings to support local involvement in science. Recognising the significance of generating extensive primary biodiversity data through my work, this experience sparks my interest in biodiversity informatics. I have since then actively engaged in TDWG activities, serving as a Program Committee member for associated conferences and contributing as an open data ambassador, mentor, and trainer. For the past years, I have been a postdoctoral researcher at the Taiwan Biodiversity Information Facility (TaiBIF), where my work focuses on evaluating biodiversity data gaps, mobilizing data, and building capacity for data use. Additionally, I contributed to translating critical materials on biodiversity data standards, such as Darwin Core terms and vocabularies, GBIF’s DNA publishing guidelines, and related course materials, from English to Chinese, making these resources more accessible to Chinese-speaking audiences.

Vision

In some Asian countries, especially Taiwan, communities are making notable progress in biodiversity informatics. However, they often lack visibility and engagement at the international level, primarily due to language barriers. I see this challenge echoed across other Asian countries, where biodiversity informatics efforts are advancing locally but remain isolated from the global network of biodiversity information standards and practices. I believe that fostering connections and collaborations between the Asian community and the international community will stimulate new developments and ultimately enhance biodiversity informatics and conservation efforts on a global scale.

With broad collaboration experience in biodiversity research, data management, and capacity building, I am committed to bridging this gap. As a multilingual researcher, I have worked alongside national and international partners to promote biodiversity data standards and have seen firsthand the impact of shared resources and strong networks. As I prepare to transition from East Asia to Southeast Asia in the near future, I hope to connect communities across linguistic and regional boundaries, facilitating discussions and knowledge sharing within the TDWG community.

Europe Representative

Wouter Addink - naturalis, Leiden, The Netherlands

Background

I am passionate about open data and increasing collaboration and community building to enable better data mobilisation from natural history collections. I have been working on community projects in Europe for over ten years, including two iterations of the EC-funded SYNTHESYS projects, ICEDIG, DiSSCo Prepare and Mobilise projects. Recently, this has included the proposal writing and leading the collaborative development of Specimen Data Refinery platform in SYNTHESYS+ and the managing the creation of Digitisation Guides for DiSSCo Prepare.

I am an active participant in SPNHC and CETAF (especially the Digitisation Working Group), and intend to remain active during my potential tenure. I have extensive experience of collaboration outside of Europe, including delivering e-taxonomy training in four continents, delivering a GBIF BID workshop in Jamaica, and digitisation of Malaysian collections as part of national digitisation initiative. I attended my first TDWG conference in 2014 (slides), and have attended all in-person European conferences since (2019 and 2022). Both myself and my digitisation team use TDWG standards on a day-to-day basis in our projects and are keen to give more user feedback on implementation and use.

I am an experienced editor of formal publications (Zootaxa, ZooKeys, BDJ) and for special collections. For examples of community presentations and outreach see my Figshare profile.

Vision

There are multiple exciting initiatives across Europe which will benefit from global connectivity, including the continued development of DiSSCo and the establishment of national DiSSCo nodes.

As Regional Representative for Europe, I would maintain and strengthen connections between the other Regional Representatives and promote TDWG’s role in developing and promoting the use of biodiversity data standards. DiSSCo, and related initiatives around the world (e.g., GBIFs regional programmes, iDigBio, and ALA), are more effective and efficient when they collaborate and share approaches. Our community still has more to gain from establishing more shared practices, protocols, and training programmes. I would like to promote the co-development of more regional initiatives, or at least help connect people and initiatives that have the potential to benefit by working together.

I am keen to promote wider participation in SPNHC and will ensure TDWG’s work is brought to CETAF’s Digitisation Working Group and Information Science and Technology Committee. Over the next two years I will be working to develop the DiSSCo-UK node and want to ensure that our work benefits the wider community, that we implement TDWG standards, and encourage wider participation in TDWG activities.

Latin America Representative

Juan Manuel Saez Hidalgo - Instituto de Ecologia y Biodiversidad (IEB), Chile

Background

I am a Computer Science researcher at Chile’s Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity (IEB). I manage and develop the Digital Herbarium, supporting biodiversity research by ensuring its digital assets are organized, accessible, and up-to-date. Additionally, I lead data analysis for various projects, utilizing my expertise to support decision-making in research grants and tenders.

The IEB aspires to be a world-class institute that conducts groundbreaking scientific research to support sustainable development in Chile. As part of this mission, the IEB operates as a training center, providing advanced education for undergraduate and postgraduate students and mentoring young researchers. While not all research can be published in scientific journals, the IEB remains committed to connecting science with the challenges facing the country’s production industries and with public institutions responsible for environmental and biodiversity care.

I hold a Master’s in Computer Science from the University of Chile, have two years of experience in ecology, and aspire to pursue a doctoral degree in Statistics at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. This doctorate aligns with my strong interest in data science and its application to biodiversity research.

Vision

My vision is to serve as a representative within the Taxonomic Databases Working Group (TDWG), advocating for the inclusion of Latin America in TDWG’s global initiatives. I aim to contribute to a more inclusive and comprehensive approach to global biodiversity research and conservation by bridging regional expertise with international biodiversity data standards.

North America Representative

Erica Krimmel - Independent Biodiversity Information Scientist, Sacramento, CA, USA

Background

I am an information scientist (MLIS) whose expertise lies in designing and implementing systems to increase the digital availability and impact of biodiversity data. Since 2006, I have worked in and around natural history collections–during my undergraduate education, at a research field station, at nonprofit museums, in the context of a national resource (iDigBio), and now as a freelance consultant. My driving goal is to make biodiversity data of all scales FAIR and fit-for-use in applied contexts from academic research to public policy. I have been a member of the TDWG community since 2017, when I began helping produce the Darwin Core Hour series. Since then, I regularly attend and present at annual meetings, participate in standards development processes, and benefit from the essential framework that TDWG provides for biodiversity data mobilization.

Vision

In order to succeed, TDWG needs individual buy-in on data standards from many, many people with diverse experience and priorities. My technical background in information architecture, data management, data standards, and data processing is complemented by a human-centered design perspective. As the Regional Representative for North America, I would bring this perspective to my work with TDWG and hope to promote TDWG in ways that make it easy for people to adopt and implement standards. Beyond standards, TDWG provides a unique interdisciplinary space for community knowledge sharing and coordination. I want to be a part of cultivating this space and lowering barriers to participation.

Oceania Representative

Corinna Paeper - National Research Collections Australia, National Collections & Marine Infrastructure, CSIRO, Canberra, Australia

Background

With a PhD in Plant Science from the Australian National University and over 15 years of experience across government, higher education, and research sectors, I’ve developed expertise in biodiversity informatics and data management, driving digital transformation initiatives that make biodiversity data more accessible and impactful. My foundation in molecular biology provided deep understanding of biological system complexities and the critical importance of robust data management in scientific research.

As Group Leader for Digital, Data & Informatics at CSIRO’s National Research Collections Australia, I provide strategic oversight for Australia’s most comprehensive specimen-based biodiversity record - over 15 million specimens. Leading digital strategy, I advance specimen data management, operationalise collection digitisation, and lead development of AI/ML methods for biological information integration. This includes diagnostic tools, automated trait extraction from specimen images, and large-scale analyses integrating multiple data layers.

My track record includes managing the migration of over 2 million records from four national collections whilst building comprehensive support frameworks that empowered collection managers across institutions. In my previous role at the Atlas of Living Australia, I developed impact reporting frameworks and data integration approaches that enhanced how researchers and policy-makers access and utilise biodiversity information.

Through representing CSIRO at forums including the Australian Faunal Collections Informatics Group, I’ve developed strong collaborative networks across Australia’s biodiversity informatics community and gained comprehensive understanding of both technical challenges and strategic opportunities in standards development.

Vision

As Oceania Representative, I will leverage my strategic leadership experience to elevate our region’s collective influence in global biodiversity standards development whilst fostering inclusive participation across our diverse institutional landscape. Oceania encompasses remarkable biodiversity across Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands, with institutions operating at different scales and with varying resources - all deserving representation in international biodiversity informatics discussions.

My focus centres on bridging cutting-edge technologies with practical implementation needs through collaborative approaches. My experience leading large-scale digital transformations positions me to advocate for standards that support both advanced applications and the diverse needs of institutions across our region, ensuring TDWG standards evolve to accommodate emerging technologies whilst remaining accessible across different contexts and capabilities.

I’m committed to building stronger collaborative networks, facilitating knowledge exchange, and ensuring Oceania’s innovations and unique perspectives contribute strategically and meaningfully to global biodiversity informatics advancement.