Staff

Bradford D. Hollingsworth, Ph.D., The Laurence M. Klauber Curator of Herpetology

Brad has served as the department’s curator since 2000. Prior to this he worked as a postdoctoral fellow, guest curator of exhibits, expedition lead herpetologist, museum store employee, and volunteer. He received his doctorate from Loma Linda University and both his M.S. and B.S. from San Diego State University. Brad’s research focuses on the evolution and biogeography of the herpetofauna of Baja California and its associated islands. Brad is also an Adjunct Professor at San Diego State University. Brad can be reached at 619.255.0277 or bhollingsworth@sdnhm.org.


Adam Clause, Ph.D., Herpetology Collections Manager

Adam began serving as the collection manager for the department in early 2023. He received his B.S. from the University of California-Davis and his doctorate from the University of Georgia, followed by a postdoctoral appointment at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Adam is passionate about conservation, ecology, biogeography, and systematics of amphibians and reptiles (particularly alligator lizards!). He is thrilled to advance those interests by facilitating the care, use, and growth of The Nat’s herpetology collection. Adam can be reached at 619.255.0313 or aclause@sdnhm.org


Research Associates

Patricia Galina Tessaro, Ph.D., Centro de Investigaciones Biologicas de Noroeste

Lee Grismer, Ph.D., La Sierra University

Tod Reeder, Ph.D., San Diego State University

Dean Leavitt, Ph.D., San Diego Mesa College

Departmental Associates

Anny Peralta-Garcia, Ph.D., Fauna del Noroeste

Clark Mahrdt, Southwest Biological Associates

Frank Santana, City of San Diego

Dick Schwenkmeyer, San Diego Mesa College, Retired

Jorge H. Valdez Villavicencio, Fauna del Noroeste

Dustin Wood, United States Geological Survey


Volunteers

The normal day-to-day accomplishments of the department would not be feasible without our core group of volunteers. Volunteer projects include making fieldguide webpages, digital mapping, fieldwork, and collections renovation.

The department is currently not accepting new volunteers.

Be sure to check out other volunteer opportunities on the Current Needs page. We offer a wide range of activites for individuals interested in natural history.