Our Team

Jonathan (Jon) Dain is a University of Florida faculty member in the School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences and with the Center for Latin American Studies. He joined the NRLI project team in 2005 and became director of the institute in 2014. An applied anthropologist by training, Jon focuses on conflict management, facilitation, and communication/leadership skills for those working with natural resource management (and managers) in the United States and abroad. He is also the professional skills coordinator for UF’s Tropical Conservation and Development (TCD) program and teaches graduate classes in his area of interest. Dain is a Florida Supreme Court certified mediator and a NRLI alumnus (Class IV). He began his career over 25 years ago as a Peace Corps Volunteer and Extension Agent working with beekeepers in Paraguay. He spends a portion of most summers working with students and resource managers in Latin America.

Jocelyn Peskin joined the NRLI team in May 2019. After earning her BA in Philosophy from Rutgers University, she lived in Central America for five years – first as a field assistant for a sea turtle conservation project, then as an animal tracker for a BBC wildlife documentary, a Peace Corps volunteer with a community-based sea turtle conservation program, and as a science teacher in bilingual schools. She went on to earn her MS in Geography with a concentration in Natural Resource Conservation at UF and has worked in the wildlife conservation, domestic violence, and affordable housing fields in the nonprofit sector. She also served as Assistant Director for Administration at UF’s Center for Latin American Studies. She is excited to return to her roots in the natural resources field.