Writing for The New York Times, Lisa Foderaro explored Dr.Cristián Samper's decision to helm the Wildlife Conservation Society after serving as director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

Speaking about this opportunity, Dr. Samper said, “I’ve spent the last 30 years of my life studying wildlife, and many of the cloud forests that I once did research on are now gone — literally,” he said. “When I go back to the field, I see an incredible loss of species. Part of my decision to make this career change is that I feel I can’t be a bystander. This is an opportunity to protect and conserve these species.”