About

Hello, and welcome! My name is Tim Billo.  I am a lecturer in the University of Washington’s Program on the Environment. I am also a part-time lecturer in biology at the University of Washington. Feel free to peruse this site for more information about the classes I teach and my research interests.  The Blog Tab on this site features personal trips and trips I have taken with students, both in Washington and abroad, that have allowed me to further pursue my interest in biology and the environment. The blog tab also has a search function if you are looking for specific information on this site.

All of  the images you see in the header of these pages are my own photographs taken on recent field trips in Washington State, Peru, Bolivia, and elsewhere. The majority of the photos on the header of this site were taken by me on field courses I teach. The  photos should change randomly every time you refresh your browser.  Enjoy!

Educational and Work Background:

I graduated from Williams College in 1997 as a biology major with an additional focus in environmental studies. Work as a naturalist field instructor, field research technician, and wilderness trip leader following my undergraduate years afforded me many opportunities to hone field skills and work with students of all ages in many parts of the world, including California, Washington, Colorado, Alaska, Peru, Costa Rica, Panama, and Nepal. I received my Ph.D. in biology from the University of Washington in 2011, for my dissertation work on manakins in Central America (see my research page). While in graduate school, I continued to work as a part-time instructor at NatureBridge and a director/instructor for Pemi West (a wilderness leadership, mountaineering, and nature immersion program for teenagers in Olympic National Park). In my current position as a lecturer at the University of Washington, I teach a variety of field and lab courses, including two somewhat unusual offerings: 1) An exploration seminar on biodiversity and sustainability issues in Peru, and 2) a 9-day backpacking-based course on wilderness history and landscape change, in Olympic National Park.