Laura Guderyahn

Urban Conservation: Chicago Region Program Director

Keller Science Action Center
Staff - current
Pronouns:She/Her/Hers

Laura Guderyahn (she/her) is the Chicago Program Director for the Keller Science Action Center at the Field Museum. In this role, Laura leads conservation action projects that integrate ecological research, youth engagement, and community partnership across the Chicago region. She brings a deep background in urban wildlife research, ecological monitoring, and landscape-scale urban conservation planning to her work supporting habitat restoration and biodiversity in urban and peri-urban environments. Laura oversees initiatives that connect people and nature, including the ongoing rewilding of the Museum Campus and Rice Native Gardens, community-driven conservation in the Calumet Region, and collaborative programs that engage youth and landowners in ecological stewardship. Prior to joining the Field Museum, Laura worked in local government and nonprofit sectors, where she led ecological restoration planning and community science programming. She holds an M.S. in Conservation Biology from Ball State University and is completing her Ph.D. in Earth, Environment, and Society at Portland State University, with a focus on long-term freshwater turtle conservation in the Pacific Northwest.