Dr. Alex Dehgan

Alex Dehgan is the CEO of Conservation X Labs, an innovation and technology startup focused on conservation  Conservation X Labs both builds new technologies for addressing the underlying drivers of extinction, and harnesses open innovation & mass collaboration to attract new solvers and new solutions.  Alex is also a Professor of Sustainability and the Global Futures Fellow at Arizona State University. Alex previously served as the Chief Scientist at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), with rank of Assistant Administrator.  Alex found and led the Office of Science and Technology (OST), and creating the vision for and helped stand up the Global Development Lab, the Agency’s DARPA for Development, which evolved from the OST.  Alex was also part of the founding team of USAID’s Policy Bureau.  Prior to USAID, Alex worked in multiple positions at the Dept. of State, including overseas service under the Coalition Provisional Authority, using science to support bilateral diplomacy. Alex was the founding country director of the Wildlife Conservation Society Afghanistan Program and helped create Afghanistan’s first national park.  Alex is the author of the book, The Snow Leopard Project, which describes the effort.  Alex holds a Ph.D in Evolutionary Biology from The University of Chicago and a J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.