World Wildlife Fund

Steve Goodman (in tree) is uncovering the secrets of Madagascar while training a future generation of Malagasy conservationists.
© WWF

Uncovering Madagascar's wildlife treasures
Despite his assertion that he is just a "typical American biologist," Steve Goodman is as unique as the extraordinary island of Madagascar where he works and lives. Working for the Chicago Field Museum and based in the WWF-Madagascar office, Goodman is recognized by his peers for his ability to get results while working under difficult conditions, including occasional bouts with parasites, malaria, and other sicknesses. Despite these challenges, this 15-year veteran of fieldwork in Madagascar has personally identified dozens of species new to science, and the biologists he has trained have discovered hundreds more.

In the early 1990s, Goodman and WWF created the Ecological Training Program (ETP) to respond to the scarcity of qualified conservation biologists that are needed to address the burgeoning environmental issues facing Madagascar. "Financial and political limitations over the past few decades have slowed the advancement of the Malagasy scientific community," said Goodman. "The current emergence of a new generation of committed biologists is very exciting for the conservation of Madagascar."