Hila Shamon

Dr. Hila Shamon is the deputy executive director of science and conservation at Duke Farms, an environmental center of the Doris Duke Foundation in Hillsborough, NJ, dedicated to restoring nature, advancing equitable climate solutions and engaging the public, practitioners and conservation leaders through its 2,700-acre campus.

Before joining Duke Farms, Dr. Shamon directed the Smithsonian’s Great Plains Science Program at the National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, where she designed and led interdisciplinary research on species recovery, large-scale grassland conservation and applied ecology. Prior to that, she was the lead quantitative ecologist for Israel's National Ecosystem Assessment Program (HaMaarag), where she developed and implemented long-term ecological monitoring frameworks to assess biodiversity trends in relation to environmental change and anthropogenic impacts. Previously, she worked as an ecologist at the Rothschild Foundation’s Ramat Hanadiv Nature Park, focusing on habitat management, species conservation and ecological research to inform sustainable land stewardship.

Dr. Shamon holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in zoology from Tel Aviv University and a B.Sc. in biotechnology and environmental sciences from Tel Hai College, Israel. She has held faculty affiliations with the Smithsonian Institution and George Mason University, Clemson University and Montana State University, leading research, mentoring graduate students and contributing to education.

She has published more than 35 peer-reviewed papers, and her work has been featured widely in outlets such as PBS, BBC, the Smithsonian Channel and The New York Times. Dr. Shamon is excited to bring her science-driven conservation vision to Duke Farms, where she is leading efforts to restore ecosystems, enhance biodiversity and implement sustainable land and wildlife management strategies that serve as a model for conservation in a changing world.