Women in Wildlife

In our (slightly belated) December episode, we delve into the remarkable journey of Nara, a Maasai woman from Tanzania who defied cultural expectations to pursue education and empowerment. Growing up in a community where education for girls was not prioritized, Nara bravely escaped an arranged marriage at the age of 12 to seek a a different life. With the support of a compassionate teacher and a nonprofit organization, she pursued her education in wildlife conservation. Today, Nara is the co-founder of the Enduata Community Initiative Organization (ECIO), dedicated to improving the lives of women and girls in her community. Through...

For our November episode, we celebrated our two year podcast birthday! We combined this celebration and look back of two years of trailblazing guests, with our yearly wrap-up (a tad early). We finally introduced our amazing producer, Taylor, and got to hear about her extensive background in communications and incredible new job at Free The Bears. We chatted about the ways in which our guests and the conversations we have had on the podcast has changed the way we look at wildlife and conservation, and the impact we hope that it has had on our listeners. We each looked...

For our October episode we were joined by the delightful Dr Liberty Boyd. Liberty is a marine biologist, science communicator, and educator. With a PhD in marine biology, her work bridges academic research, wildlife conservation, and storytelling to drive meaningful change for coastal ecosystems and the communities that rely on them. Dr. Boyd currently runs the social media page Libertyology — a platform dedicated to ocean advocacy, youth empowerment, and innovative marine conservation. As a current postdoctoral researcher at Florida Atlantic University Harbor Branch, she is working on a sea turtle ecotoxicology study related to loggerhead exposure to harmful algal bl...

For our September episode, we were beyond thrilled to have Dr. Rosa Vásquez Espinoza as our podcast guest. Rosa is a Peruvian chemical, National Geographic Explorer, and award-winning artist whose work bridges indigenous knowledge and modern science to protect the Amazon rainforest and its communities Rosa was awarded Peru’s Order of Merit (2025)—the country’s highest state recognition for environmental protection. She has also been named one of the BBC’s 100 Women (2024), received the American Chemical Society CAS Leadership Award, and was recognized as one of "50 People Changing the World" and a recipient of the “New Explorer Award” (The...

For our August episode we were joined by environmental psychology scientist Dr Brianna Le Busque. Bri is the program director of environmental sciences at The University of South Australia, along with being science and technology Australia Superstar of STEM. Her research focuses on biophilia (connections to nature) and biophobia (fear/dislike of nature), especially in the marine context. Her main area of research is understanding fear of sharks- including children’s fear, the media representations of sharks and tourism experiences of sharks. Bri is also involved in work exploring health benefits of nature connection for students, whale tourism experiences, im...

We were thrilled to have Ranger Louie on for our July podcast episode, in celebration of world ranger day (July 31st) and all the incredible women rangers on the front line of conservation! Louie is an absolute firecracker- currently working as a ranger in Western Australia, and bringing us on her adventures through her Youtube and Instagram channels. From starting studying paramedicine, to firefighting in her role as a ranger, we heard all about Louie's journey in getting to where she is today. We gained insight into the extremely diverse role that is being a ranger, and what a...

We were fortunate enough to have Unathi Makwange join us for our June episode! Unathi is a wildlife projects coordinator in training from Pretoria, South Africa, with a deep-rooted passion for nature, storytelling, and making a difference in the conservation space. We learn all about Unathi's journey in getting to this role at the age of 20 years old, including rejection, pivoting, and ultimately finding her calling in the South African bush. In this chat Unathi was wise beyond her years, and provides listeners with insights into life as a young woman in wildlife in South Africa, along with offering...

Welcome back with the WIW podcast listeners!

For our May episode we were joined by Ellesha Veness, who is an experienced zookeeper and professional wildlife rescuer. Ellesha shared her career journey with us from breaking into the industry, to working as a zookeeper in some of Australia's most iconic zoos; The Australian Reptile Park and Australia Zoo, to her role as a wildlife rescuer at the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital. In the latter role, Ellesha undertook some seriously unique and exciting wildlife rescues of our native animals, and we were lucky enough to gain insight into a...

April's episode of the WIW podcast is with Dr Debbie Saunders, who is the Founder, CEO & Chief Remote Pilot, as well as the resident Conservation Ecologist at Wildlife Drones. We chatted through Debbie's journey, including founding Wildlife Drones (building radio-telemetry sensors for use on drones), which was inspired after work she did in her early career with the migratory bird 'Swift Parrot', which extended into her PhD.  She found a lack of technology in the area of tracking these smaller, migratory species, which implored her to look further into technology development, which is where Wildlife Drones was born.

For March's podcast episode, we were privileged enough to chat to Dr Dami Pikuda, a seasoned researcher and program evaluator with extensive experience in designing, executing, and managing environment-related projects and programs. Dami fuses  qualitative and quantitative work to propel meaningful action. Fittingly, Dami is part of the delivery team at Women for the Environment (WE) Africa; an organisation that sparks a movement of women leaders in Africa and beyond, who are role modelling a more effective way to do conservation. WE Africa puts women at the heart of transforming Africa’s environmental movement, and are an integral part of...

Welcome back to the WIW podcast! We couldn’t be more excited to talk to Astrid O’Connor for our February episode. Astrid is a paleobiologist, science communicator, and second year PhD student. We learnt all about Astrid’s PhD, and how she fused her two passions in paleontology and zoology to answer modern conservation problems. Astrid is a huge advocate for accessibility in science, and uses her strong communication skills to convey science in different and palatable ways. Astrid also generously shared her experiences in some big personal changes in recent years, and we discuss further the changes that s...

Happy New Year to our wonderful Women in Wildlife Community! We are kicking off the podcast in 2025 covering an extremely important topic- mental health in the wildlife industry. Who better to delve into this topic with than the executive director of "Not One More Vet", which is an important not-for-profit organisation focusing on tackling suicide and mental health in the veterinary profession. Outside of her role at NOMV, Gigi is a therapist, leadership coach, and consultant. Gigi talked us through the crisis that veterinary professionals are facing, and the multitude of factors that contribute to it. Gigi shares some...

Our final episode of the year is a yearly wrap up and our major highlights of the podcast in 2024. Co-hosts Maddy and Eliza talk through some of our largest take-home messages from our guests this year, who were very generous in sharing their wealth of knowledge and insights with us. 

Thank you to all our listeners for your support his year. We cannot wait to bring you more in 2025! Hope everyone has a safe and happy New Years.

Any questions or queries contact womeninwildlife@outlook.com

Links to our resources:

W...

For October's episode, we were joined by conservation educator and popular podcast host, Kirsty Costa! Kirsty is currently the senior manager of conservation impact at Zoos Victoria, where she combines her love for both education and conservation. Kirsty is also the host of the popular podcast "Weekend Birder", a birding podcast for people of all levels and interests (not to mention it is also the no.1 nature podcast on Apple Podcasts). Kirsty chatted us through her journey in discovering her love for nature, conservation, education, and science communication, and how she has utilised the transferable skills that she has...

For our September episode, we were joined by conservation biologist Kate Sheridan! Kate is originally from the UK, however, her work as taken her to all corners of the globe. She initially moved to South Africa to complete her Masters, which looked at recreationist perceptions of lethal and non-lethal management of sharks, and has recently left her job as a marine biologist in the Maldives. Kate has a large social media presence, and like she is with her own audience, she was very open with us on the  struggles that she has faced with breaking into the industry, as w...

In August's episode we were fortunate enough to chat to wildlife biologist Janice Vaz! Janice shares with us her groundbreaking research in big cat animal welfare, as well the hardships & hurdles that she had to navigate through her PhD, particularly with moving to a new country during COVID-19. We hear all about the differences she has noticed in research between her home country in India, compared to Australia where she completed her PhD.  Janice has done a significant amount of work in the science communication spaces, through her not-for-profit organisation "Project Monkey", as well as her fantastic artwork (which w...

We are back after a short winter break! Who better to kick things back off with, than the very inspiring Amy Robbins. Amy is the currently the Deputy Curator of Mammals at Auckland Zoo, as well as the founder of the Sumatran Ranger Project. Amy shares her extensive journey in the zoo industry, particularly with orangutans and carnivores. She delves into the changes that she would like to see within the zoo industry, as well as what she believes the roles that zoos have in wildlife conservation. We learn all about the incredible work that Amy does with the...

In May's episode we were fortunate enough to chat with Tamara Qabazard, who is a very experienced wildlife veterinarian. Tamara was the first female veterinarian to graduate in Kuwait, and shared some incredible stories on her involvement in the wildlife trafficking space, along with wildlife rehabilitation. Tamara is an inspiring ambassador for up and coming wildlife conservationists, and shared some of her pieces of advice to other women in the industry. She captivated us with her perspectives and the breadth of her work, we highly recommend tuning in to finding out more about her!

Follow Tamara's work...

April's episode of the WIW podcast was a bit different- co-hosts Maddy & Eliza were in the hot seat! We thought that we would take this opportunity to delve deeper into some topics that come up for us regularly within this industry, including imposter syndrome, job rejections, and experiences in trying to figure out which pathway to go down within this diverse industry. We chatted about our journeys in getting to our current roles, and shared our biggest learnings along the way. This one is a long one- strap yourself in!

Any questions or queries contact womeninwildlife@outlook...

For our March episode we were able to hear from Kat Best, who is a wildlife ecologist in Australia. Kat has had some incredible experiences working remotely around Australia with a variety of conservation organisations. Kat chatted about the challenges getting your foot in the door of ecology, and the changes that she would like to see in the industry to make it an accessible and inclusive space for all. We also spoke about stakeholder engagement, and particularly the changes that Kat would like to see in how scientists collaborate with first nations people within the ecology space. Kat...

February's episode features the incredible Tahnee Barnes, who is a wildlife veterinary nurse, conservationist, and founder of End Extinction International. Tahnee talks us through her journey navigating her way to landing her dream job at 35  years old, and some of the lessons she's learnt along the way. Tahnee shares her experience with imposter syndrome, and provides our listeners with some invaluable advice in tackling this challenging voice in our heads. Finally, Tahnee expands on her role as founder of End Extinction International, and about EEI's future goals. Tahnee is a bright light and a wealth of knowledge! You can f...

Happy New Year to our listeners! We kicked off the first episode of 2024 with Roxy Rogan. Roxy is a conservationist and award winning wildlife filmmaker, and has recently started her new role as a producer at Australian Geographic, after closing down her business "Wild Education". We were able to chat about her unique journey in getting to this dream position, and learnt more about her two films; Keepers of the Forest (Sumatra) and Person of the Forest (Borneo). We delved into the lessons she's learnt along the way, choosing to leave university to start her business at 19 years old...

In our final episode of the year, we were lucky to chat to Dr Prishani, who is a Conservation Vet at WWF-International. Prish shares her journey getting to where she is today, delves into how she believes that collaboration is an invaluable tool in solving conservation problems. Prish has some insightful advice for listeners, and talks us through her transition from clinical work focusing on individual animals, to solving veterinary conservation issues on large scale population levels. Tune in to find out more, and check out @doctor.prish to continue following Prish's work.

Any questions or...

Olly Pitt is a marine biologist that has spent the past 9 years working at the Australian Seabird and Turtle Rescue (NSW), with the last 6 years holding the position of the general manager. In this episode we were able to delve deep into the toll that working in the wildlife industry has on our mental health. Olly runs us through her decision in taking a step back from the industry, as well as her future plans for her fresh start. She also provides us with advice with networking, as well as advice for managers in mitigating gender issues within the...

We were lucky enough to have the incredibly experienced and insightful Dr Phoebe Meagher on for our second episode. Phoebe is a Wildlife Conservation Officer at Taronga Conservation Society Australia, and manages the conservation recovery for Australian aquatic species including Platypus and Marine Turtles. She has a PhD in Marine Biology specialising in reproductive biology of rays, but also has a special interest in combating illegal wildlife trade and promoting women in science and science communication. 

In this episode we delved deep into Phoebe’s extensive experience in wildlife conservation. Phoebe ran us through all...

Any questions or queries contact womeninwildlife@outlook.com

Links to our resources:

Website: https://women-in-wildlife.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/women.in.wildlife/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077369770841
Linked in: https://www.linkedin.com/company/womeninwildlife

Music by Thomas Hagen from SLAUX