Luther College announces alum David Hecht as Young Alumni Award recipient and 2026 Commencement speaker

Conservation social scientist and environmental anthropologist David Hecht will receive Luther College’s 2026 Young Alumni Award and deliver the 2026 Commencement address at 9 a.m. on Sunday, May 24, in Luther College’s Carlson Stadium.

David Hecht

The Young Alumni Award was established in 2003 and recognizes outstanding achievements of Luther alumni in their vocation or avocation who have graduated in the last 15 years. Each year an alum is presented with the award at Commencement.

“We are excited to honor David with the Young Alumni Award and welcome him back to campus to address the graduating class as they begin a new chapter as Luther alumni,” said Luther College President Brad Chamberlain. “Hearing from our Young Alumni Award recipient provides our newest graduates with a tangible example of how a Luther education inspires and equips students to courageously serve the common good, and how together we may catalyze the creation of a more just and sustainable world.”

A native of La Crosse, Wisconsin, Hecht graduated from Luther in 2011. Presently, he works with Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant at the University of Georgia. He lives in Athens, Georgia, with his wife, Abby Sterling, Ph.D., and their son, Orren.

Before joining the University of Georgia, Hecht worked as a social scientist with the National Park Service’s Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate. He has worked with other government agencies including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey. He has also worked with nongovernmental organizations, including The Nature Conservancy and the International Crane Foundation.

Starting in 2014, Hecht partnered with the Royal Society for the Protection of Nature in Bhutan as a researcher and project coordinator on community-based conservation initiatives for threatened and endangered bird species. His research and experiences have been featured in “Langscape Magazine,” “Current Conservation” and “Himalaya.”

Since 2016, Hecht has been a National Geographic Explorer with a commitment to “integrative and creative inquiry, weaving together different knowledge systems, ways of knowing and methodological tools from the arts and sciences to navigate and engage with the challenges of conservation in dynamic and often contested landscapes.”

He has served as a board member with the International Society of Ethnobiology and an associate editor of the “Journal of Ethnobiology” and “Journey of Human Ecology.” He is a member of the Social Science Working Group with the Society of Conservation Biology and the Conservation Social Science Partnership.

David Hecht (left) and Jigme Tshering with the Royal Society for the Protection of Nature engage in participatory mapping with community partners in Trashi Yangtse, Bhutan.

In 2011, Hecht graduated magna cum laude with bachelor’s degrees in anthropology and biology from Luther College.

While at Luther, Hecht was involved on and off campus as a member of the student-led Environmental Concerns Organization and a student worker with the Center for Sustainable Communities. He was deeply impacted by his work and mentorship at the Decorah-based nonprofit, Raptor Resource Project, in managing the Decorah eagle camera in 2011, and peregrine falcon nest site maintenance and banding in the Driftless Area.

Hecht earned a Ph.D. in integrative conservation and anthropology from the University of Georgia in 2022. He also holds graduate certificates in nonprofit management and leadership, and conservation ecology and sustainable development from Georgia.

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