General Session Speaker

The 2026 AZA Annual Conference features three exciting General Sessions, including the Honors & Awards General Session, to celebrate excellence in the zoo and aquarium community.

Tuesday, September 29 General Session 8:00 am - 9:30 am


Amy Bowers Cordalis Executive Director Ridges to Riffles Indigenous Conservation Group
Amy Bowers Cordalis is a mother, fisherwoman, attorney, and member and former General Counsel of the Yurok Nation—the largest Indigenous Nation in California. She is currently the executive director of the Ridges to Riffles Indigenous Conservation Group, a nonprofit advancing Indigenous sovereignty through the protection of cultural and natural resources, including the undamming of the Klamath River. She is the recipient of the UN’s highest environmental honor, Champions of the Earth Laureate, and has been named to the second annual TIME100 Climate List (2024), featuring the one hundred most influential leaders driving business to real climate action. She has been named as a 2026 Jordan Schnitzer Prize of the West Finalist by The High Desert Museum. She is the author of The Water Remembers (Hachette, 2025).