Leslie Ruyle is an associate research scientist with the Bush School of Government and Public Service and assistant director of the Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.
Leslie has devoted her career to tackling problems of conservation and human-wildlife coexistence in areas of the world experiencing extreme conflicts. Her research focuses on big questions like, “How can conservation provide benefits to both humans and wildlife? How can development promote conservation and better lives for people? And how can we support entrepreneurship and economic development in regions of conflict and conservation concern?”
Leslie’s pursuit of answers to these questions has taken her to the far reaches of the earth—often with students in tow. She’s traveled with faculty to Nepal to study the impact of conflict on natural disaster resilience. She’s also taken students on high-impact trips to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to focus on issues of malnutrition in women and children and to conduct evaluations of educational programs for displaced youth.
Leslie has also been featured as part of Texas A&M Foundation’s Lead By Example