Ben J. Novak is the Great Passenger Pigeon Comeback project leader responsible for project development and bringing together the right team of advisors and collaborators to reach the project’s goals. It was witnessing reintroduced bison, elk, and bighorn sheep herds at Theodore Roosevelt National Park, near his birthplace, combined with learning about genetic engineering and ancient DNA advancements at the turn of the millennium that inspired his vision to recreate and restore extinct species for ecological restoration. Ben’s goal for the Great Passenger Pigeon Comeback is to set the standards for de-extinction as a discipline regarding the scientific and ethical protocols and considerations from the lab to the field.