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The California Urban Nature Alliance (CUNA) is a collaborative initiative among the San Diego Natural History Museum, the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County, the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, and the University of California, Berkeley. Funded by a $800,000 grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, CUNA aims to promote biodiversity and environmental equity research across California's major urban areas: San Diego, Los Angeles, and the Bay Area.

The alliance focuses on improving understanding of urban ecology and engaging community scientists in urban green space initiatives, with a significant focus on San Diego's canyons. CUNA will facilitate partnerships with policymakers and residents, particularly in under-resourced neighborhoods, to support urban nature preservation and increase the accessibility of natural spaces. The initiative will also develop replicable strategies for other cities to coordinate biodiversity conservation in urban settings, with UC Berkeley’s Schell Lab playing a leading role in guiding the program's community-driven research efforts.

Under the mentorship of the PI, the postdoc will conduct research and provide organizational and management support to ensure the alliance’s success. The postdoc will work on biodiversity monitoring efforts in the Bay Area, principally managing the fieldwork and analytical operations of our multi-year camera trap study, with the goal of publishing several peer-reviewed scientific publications detailing findings from the region. The postdoc will also be expected to help co-organize and facilitate environmental equity workshops with all CUNA partners in the years 2025 and 2026, with the first workshop scheduled for April 2025. Finally, the postdoc will help strengthen the capacity for tissue specimen collection (namely, coyote and raccoon roadkill samples) and archiving at both the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (MVZ) on campus, and the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.

Responsibilities:

1. Fieldwork: Providing day-to-day management and oversight of fieldwork operations for wildlife camera traps in the Bay Area
2. Fieldwork: Providing day-to-day management and oversight of tissue specimen collection among the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and California Academy of Sciences
3. Data: Curating and organizing multi-year photo database, tagging wildlife photos and videos
4. Mentoring Graduate and Undergraduate students
5. Co-creating environmental equity workshops across coalition partners
6. Providing analytical support for student research
7. Writing and publishing, taking data that has been collected and utilizing it in publication, with the goal of publishing several manuscripts as a first and co-author.

The prospective postdoctoral scholar will receive comprehensive training, skills, and experiences to support their continued development as a scholar, educator, and mentor. The candidate will have ample opportunity to collaborate with other members of the lab and department, both replete with wildlife and spatial ecologists. Further, the scholar will be included in community meetings, workshops, and seminars to build their community engagement, and will have the opportunity to network locally in the Bay Area through the California Academy of Sciences as well as with regional parks and recreation departments. The scholar will be provided with multiple opportunities to build their mentorship skills and will have opportunities to give guest lectures. The sum of these experiences will facilitate growth as an integrative and social-ecological scholar with both technical skills in urban wildlife ecology as well as effective community engagement abilities.

UC Berkeley is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. The excellence of the institution requires an environment in which the diverse community of faculty, students, and staff are welcome and included. Successful candidates will demonstrate knowledge and skill related to ensuring equity and inclusion in the activities of their academic position (e.g., teaching, research, and service, as applicable).

The University of California, Berkeley is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or protected veteran status.

Please refer to the University of California’s Affirmative Action Policy and the University of California’s Anti-Discrimination Policy.

In searches when letters of reference are required all letters will be treated as confidential per University of California policy and California state law. Please refer potential referees, including when letters are provided via a third party (i.e., dossier service or career center), to the UC Berkeley statement of confidentiality prior to submitting their letter.

As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.

As a condition of employment, the finalist will be required to disclose if they are subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct, are currently being investigated for misconduct, left a position during an investigation for alleged misconduct, or have filed an appeal with a previous employer.

• “Misconduct” means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant’s previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment, discrimination, dishonesty, or unethical conduct, as defined by the employer.
• UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy
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