On Saturday, November 12^th at 3 pm, the Friends of San Pedro Valley Park welcome Dr. Shannon Bennett. She joined the California Academy of Sciences in 2011 as the institution’s first-ever Associate Curator of Microbiology, where she broadened the Academy’s research scope to include a dedicated focus on viruses and bacteria. Dr. Bennett’s specialty lies in infectious diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans. In her lecture, she will focus on certain diseases that are with us at present and ones that may occur in the future.

This talk will take place indoors at the SPVP Visitor Center as we resume our in-person program of educational lectures (masks will be optional). Please join us for what promises to be a very timely and informative talk.

About the speaker: As the Chief of Science and Harry W. and Diana V. Hind Dean of Science and Research Collections, Dr. Shannon Bennett is responsible for the Academy’s programs of scientific research and exploration, as well as overseeing the Academy’s priceless collection of nearly 46 million scientific specimens from around the world. In this role, she helps to shape bold new research initiatives and oversees a world-class team of explorers and scientific leaders who are working to explore, explain, and sustain life on Earth. Bennett also holds an appointment as one of the institution’s Patterson Scholars in Science and Sustainability. She received her Bachelor of Science from McGill University and her doctorate degree in zoology from the University of British Columbia.