Roseann Beggy Hanson is a native of southern Arizona, and grew up in the rural Tanque Verde Valley east of Tucson.

She studied journalism and ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Arizona, and has worked around the globe as a conservationist, naturalist, artist, and writer. She is one of the organizers of the Wild Wonder Nature Journaling Conference, and the author of Master of Field Arts and Nature Journaling for a Wild Life, an 8-week “workshop in a book.”

With her husband, Jonathan, she has authored over a dozen natural history and outdoor books, including the Southern Arizona Nature Almanac and San Pedro River: A Discovery Guide, both of which include her nature journal data and art. Their Ragged Mountain Guide to Outdoor Sports won the 1997 Outdoor Book Award and their 50 Common Reptiles was cited for Interpretive Excellence by the National Park Service in 1997. (Portfolio page, for full list.)

Roseann is also a lapidary and metalsmith, creating one-of-a-kind gemstone and precious metal jewelry. She has sold her creations under the name Desert Rose Design Studio online and at galleries throughout the West.

Roseann began ConserVentures LLC as a consultancy to assist small non-profits with development and communications. Clients included African Conservation Fund, South Rift Association of Land Owners, Uaso Ngiro Baboon Project, Biosphere Expeditions, and several other businesses and conservation efforts. 

In 2009 Roseann founded the hugely successful adventure travel event Overland Expo, with a mission that strongly emphasizes the connection between exploration and conservation of the world’s natural and cultural resources. She sold Overland Expo in 2019.

Roseann was an associate with the University of Arizona School of Science, working as art and science program coordinator at the Desert Laboratory at Tumamoc Hill from 2019 to 2022, and was named a Fellow the Explorers Club and Society of Women Geographers in the U.S. and the Royal Geographical Society in Great Britain for her conservation and expedition work.

Jonathan and Roseann will celebrate 39 years of marriage in 2023, and now split their time between Arizona, Alaska, and Great Britain.

Follow Roseann’s explorations and natural history journals and watercolors on Facebook and Instagram.