Steven Vanroekel
CEO of Earth Species Project. The Rockefeller Foundation, The Obama White House, Microsoft
- Role
- Chief Executive Officer at Earth Species Project
- Location
- Bend, OR, US
- LinkedIn followers
- 500 followers
About Steven Vanroekel
I have a passion for impact at scale, innovative monetization, turning around organizations and running fantastic teams through great leadership, culture and diversity.
Experience
Chief Executive Officer
Feb 2026 — Present · Bend, OR, US
As CEO of Earth Species Project, I lead a nonprofit working at the frontier of interspecies communication. Our mission is to decode animal communication using advanced artificial intelligence and help humanity better understand the many species that share our planet.Earth Species Project brings together machine learning researchers, biologists, and technologists to develop foundation models and other AI tools that can analyze and interpret animal vocalizations and behavior. By applying techniques such as self-supervised learning, representation learning, and large-scale acoustic modeling, we aim to reveal patterns and structure in animal communication systems that have long remained hidden.In addition to advancing the science, I focus on building a sustainable organization capable of supporting this ambitious mission. This includes shaping strategy, strengthening partnerships with the global research community, expanding donor and philanthropic support, and building a collaborative culture that allows world-class researchers and technologists to do their best work.Understanding how other species communicate has the potential to transform our relationship with the natural world. I’m honored to work with an extraordinary team pushing the boundaries of AI, biology, and conservation to help unlock the voices of the rest of life on Earth.
Education
Iowa State University
BS, Business and Information Systems
1988 — 1994
Find verified contacts for anyone on LinkedIn
Unifers gives sales teams verified emails and direct dials, enriched profiles, and outreach that lands in the inbox.
Free plan included · No credit card required
This profile is compiled from publicly available professional sources. Unifers is not affiliated with or endorsed by LinkedIn. Request removal of this profile.