Thomas is a conservation biologist who has worked in the Brazilian Amazon since 1965 and made the fate of tropical forests a public issue.

He was Chief Biodiversity Adviser to the President of the World Bank and Senior Adviser to the President of the United Nations Foundation before becoming Biodiversity Chair of the Heinz Center for Science, Economics and the Environment.

He introduced the term “biological diversity” to the scientific community in 1980. He received his B.S. and Ph.D. in biology from Yale University and is currently University Professor of Environmental Science and Public Policy at George Mason University.

Dr. Lovejoy is also a member of various Rainforest Trust Committees.