Meet Our Staff

Dr. Rinker is an ecologist, educator, and explorer who works at the Biodiversity Research Institute (Gorham, ME) as its Director of Scientific Advancement and Development. He is a National Fellow of The Explorers Club, a Fellow of the New York Academy of Sciences, and a Switzer Environmental Fellow. Dr. Rinker is science advisor for Sustenta.com and Naturalia, both based in México City, as well as a member of the research board for the Amazon Conservatory for Tropical Studies (Iquitos, Peru). He is co-editor and contributor to Forest Canopies(2004, Elsevier Press) and Gaia in Turmoil: Climate Change, Biodepletion, and Earth Ethics in an Age of Crisis (2010, MIT Press). His scientific expeditions include numerous sites in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, and Australia. He has participated twice on the French-sponsored international Radeau des Cimes mission (Cameroon and French Guiana). Dr. Rinker has received numerous science education awards including “Outstanding Science Teacher” (1991, Science Teachers Association of New York State), “Outstanding Biology Teacher” (1997, National Association of Biology Teachers), and the “Environmental Education Award” from the County of Sarasota, Florida in 2004.