John L. Koprowski was born in Lakewood, Ohio and raised in the Cleveland metropolitan area, the oldest of three boys.  He received his BS in Zoology (Wildlife Biology) in 1983 from the Ohio State University as a first generation college student, MA in Zoology (Wildlife Ecology) in 1985 from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and his PhD in 1991 in Biology from the University of Kansas. John served on the faculty in the Department of Biology at Willamette University, a highly selective liberal arts college, from 1992 to 2000.  John is Director in the School of Natural Resources & Environment and a Professor of Wildlife & Fisheries Conservation and Management at The University of Arizona, a Research I university, where he has been a faculty member since 2000.  John also serves as the Director of the Desert Southwest CESU, Head of the Conservation Research Laboratory and Director of the Mt. Graham Biology Programs.  He teaches courses in conservation behavior, zoo and aquarium conservation and wildlife conservation and has mentored more than 50 graduate students as a major advisor.  His research program focuses on the ecology and conservation of rare species in the United States, Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Nepal, China, Mongolia, South Africa and numerous other international locations funded by $7.5 million in awards. John has authored 150 peer-reviewed scientific articles on animal behavior, conservation, disturbance and ecology of mammals, 30 book and proceedings chapters,  and 5 books, most recently the co-authored volumes, Mammals of Korea and International Wildlife Management: Response to Global Challenges.  He serves the IUCN as a North American Red List Coordinator, is on the Board of Directors of the American Society of Mammalogists, and is a Fellow of The Wildlife Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Linnean Society of London. John lives with his wife Nancy and their two dogs in the beautiful Sonoran desert on the north side of the Santa Catalina mountains.