Gabrielle A. Russo, associate professor of anthropology and former deputy director of the Turkana Basin Institute (TBI), was named TBI’s interim director effective October 21.
Dino Martins stepped down from his position as TBI director to turn his full attention to his research. As director, and in collaboration with the TBI Kenya and TBI Stony Brook teams, Martins led the development of new research programs, and expanded and supported the development of professional support staff, including in human resources, finance, logistics, and field operations.
Russo is a long-standing member of the TBI research community and conducts paleontological fieldwork at Miocene (~23-5 million years ago) sites in the Turkana Basin known for yielding ape fossils. In her previous role as deputy director, she helped to oversee the daily functions and activities of TBI Stony Brook, cultivate and steward relationships with TBI stakeholders, and organize and execute special events that promote TBI’s impact and visibility as an international leader in human evolution and other paleoscience research.
Russo will receive support from a formal steering committee consisting of Stony Brook University President Andrea Goldsmith, TBI Research Professor Louise Leakey, and TBI Director Emeritus Lawrence Martin. Gregory Henkes, formerly TBI’s research fund officer, has taken on additional responsibilities and assumes a new role as associate director.
In the coming weeks and months, Stony Brook University, in conjunction with the TBI International Advisory Board, will begin an international search for a permanent director.
TBI was established as a joint venture between paleontologist and conservationist Richard Leakey and Stony Brook University to expand upon and facilitate research in the Lake Turkana Basin of northern Kenya, one of the most scientifically important parts of the world.
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