I am a wildlife conservation practitioner aspiring to bridge the science-policy-society interface. As a scientist, I am interested in how wild animals adapt behaviorally to human-modified landscapes. As a practitioner I focus on ways of improving human-wildlife coexistence, informing policy decisions with evidence, and raising inclusivity and diversity in conservation.
My work spans field research, advising in situ conservation efforts, mentorship of students undertaking field projects, interactions with policy-makers and wildlife managers, and public outreach and conservation advocacy usually in the form of blogs, web and magazine articles. I am affiliated with The Safina Center in New York, the Department of Zoology and Entomology at the University of the Free State in South Africa, and with the Southern Tanzania Elephant Program. Through a female network called 500 Women Scientists, I recently became involved in boosting women scientists' visibility and participation across society as one of the founders of Request a Woman Scientist, a global directory of women in STEM fields who wish to engage with members of the public, media and government agencies. I help manage this database day-to-day together with three dynamic women scientists. Research-wise, I recently developed a citizen science and photography project focused on winter coat molt in the mountain goat in relation to thermal change. Previously, I was a 2016-2017 AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow, a Junior Research Fellow in Evolutionary Anthropology at Durham University, and a postdoc and lecturer in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University. I have consulted for a range of NGOs including the Wildlife Conservation Society (in Tanzania, U.S., Canada), WildAid, the Environmental Investigation Agency, the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group, the Animal Behaviour Research Unit in Mikumi National Park, and Wind East Africa, Ltd. |
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