Maddalena Bearzi in conversation with Beth Pratt about “Stranded: Finding Nature in Uncertain Times”

Part of ALOUD TRAVELS: To the Beach

Come out and celebrate summer with ALOUD in a festival-like atmosphere at one of our beachside library branches. The afternoon-long event will feature beach-themed author talks, a SoCal Summer Storytelling hour, and family-friendly activities.

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Maddalena Bearzi
Maddalena Bearzi is President and co-founder of the Ocean Conservation Society. She holds a Ph.D. in Biology and a Post-Doctorate from UCLA, and she has been involved in studying marine mammals with a conservation bias since 1990. Her research on dolphins and whales off California represents one of the longest investigations worldwide. She has published several scientific peer-reviewed papers, she is co-author of “Beautiful Minds: The Parallel Lives of Great Apes and Dolphins” (Harvard University Press), and author of “Dolphin Confidential: Confessions of a Field Biologist” (University of Chicago Press) and “Stranded: Finding Nature in Uncertain Times” (Heyday). Her first children’s book for MacMillan is forthcoming. Her work and books have been covered, among many others, by CNN, NPR, KPCC, Al Jazeera America, The LA Times, and American Scientist. Maddalena is also a writer for other media, including National Geographic. Born and raised in Italy, she lives in Los Angeles, California, with her husband and dog.

Beth Pratt
A lifelong advocate for wildlife, Beth Pratt has worked in environmental leadership roles for over twenty-five years, and in two of the country’s largest national parks: Yosemite and Yellowstone. As the California Regional Executive Director for the National Wildlife Federation, Pratt leads the #SaveLACougars campaign to build the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, which broke ground on Earth Day, April 22, 2022. Her innovative conservation work has been featured by the Los Angeles Times, NPR, The New Yorker, and more. Author of I Heart Wildlife and When Mountain Lions are Neighbors, her new book Yosemite Wildlife will be published in 2024. She has also contributed to the books The Nature of Yosemite and Inspiring Generations as well as given a TEDx talk, “How a Lonely Cougar in Los Angeles Inspired the World,” and is featured in the documentary, “The Cat that Changed America.” Pratt spends much of her time in Los Angeles, but makes her home outside of Yosemite with her five dogs, two cats, and the wildlife that frequent her backyard.