Blake Alexander Simmons is an environmental social scientist for the Tampa Bay Estuary Program and an instructor and teaching assistant for the Harvard Extension School. He previously served as a postdoctoral research fellow in Colorado State University's Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources, Boston University's Global Development Policy Center, and the University of Queensland. His research focuses on the economic, political, and psychosocial factors influencing environmental decision-making in social-ecological systems.
He received a B.S. degree in Biology and Ecosystem Science & Policy from the University of Miami in 2013, an M.S. in Biology from the University of Antwerp in 2015, and a Ph.D. in Conservation Science from the University of Queensland in 2020.
Experience
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2022–presentTeaching assistant, Harvard Extension School
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2022–presentInstructor, Harvard Extension School
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2023–presentEnvironmental social scientist, Tampa Bay Estuary Program
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2020–2022Postdoctoral research fellow, Boston University
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2022–2022Postdoctoral research fellow, Colorado State University
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2019–2020Postdoctoral research fellow, University of Queensland
Education
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2020The University of Queensland, Ph.D. in Conservation Science
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2015Universiteit Antwerpen, M.S. in Biology
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2013University of Miami, B.S. in Biology and Ecosystem Science & Policy
Publications
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2022A trait‐based framework for assessing the vulnerability of marine species to human impacts, Ecosphere
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2022Accelerated shifts in terrestrial life zones under rapid climate change, Global Change Biology
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2022Assessing the status of existing and tentative marine World Heritage areas reveals opportunities to better achieve World Heritage Convention goals, Journal of Environmental Management
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2021Psychosocial drivers of land management behaviour: How threats, norms, and context influence deforestation intentions, Ambio
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2021China can help solve the debt and environmental crises, Science
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2021Risks to global biodiversity and Indigenous lands from China’s overseas development finance, Nature Ecology & Evolution
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2021Geolocated dataset of Chinese overseas development finance, Scientific Data
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2021Mitigating social-ecological risks from the surge in China’s overseas investment: an Indonesian profile, Discover Sustainability
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2021Identifying management opportunities to combat climate, land, and marine threats across less climate exposed coral reefs, Conservation Biology
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2021Heterogeneity in Preferences for Nonfinancial Incentives to Engage Landholders in Native Vegetation Management, Land Economics
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2021Tough questions for the “30×30” conservation agenda, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment
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2021The potential for applying “Nonviolent Communication” in conservation science, Conservation Science and Practice
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2020Landholder typologies illuminate pathways for social change in a deforestation hotspot, Journal of Environmental Management
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2020Program awareness, social capital, and perceptions of trees influence participation in private land conservation programs in Queensland, Australia, Environmental Management
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2019Collaboration across boundaries in the Amazon, Science
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2018Effectiveness of regulatory policy in curbing deforestation in a biodiversity hotspot, Environmental Research Letters
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2018Frequent policy uncertainty can negate the benefits of forest conservation policy, Environmental Science & Policy
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2018Spatial and temporal patterns of land clearing during policy change, Land Use Policy
Professional Memberships
- Society for Conservation Biology
- St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S.
- Website
- @BAlexSimmons
- Article Feed
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For media enquiries,
bsimmons@tbep.org - ORCID
- Joined
