Our Impact

Meet Scott!

Scott Brainerd is an American ex-pat with about forty years’ experience working overseas, primarily in Scandinavia and Europe. He also served as an officer in the Alaska and Northwest Section Chapters and on the International Wildlife Management Working Group, as an associate editor for the Bulletin. His 47-year membership with TWS has greatly benefited him during his entire career, through networking and professional development. It has also inspired him as an educator, especially in his current position as an associate professor in Norway, where he and his students founded the first and only international student chapter of TWS at their university. Brainerd's TWS involvement has aided in providing insights on the North American model to international students and colleagues; likewise he hopes his perspective has been of some utility to TWS and wildlife conservation, particularly in his home state of Alaska. (TWS Member Since 1997)

Meet Jessi!

Jessi Tapp is part of a joint effort involving the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Canadian Wildlife Service, state and provincial wildlife management agencies, the flyway councils, First Nations, nongovernmental waterfowl advocacy and research organizations and hunters.

They banded around 2,500 total birds, consisting of about 1,000 mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), 1,450 blue-winged teals (Spatula discors) and a few other species. Tapp said that the real icing on the cake was the occasional call of a sandhill crane (Grus canadensis) and the daily opportunity to refine her shorebird and other waterbird identification skills at their trap sites.

"For someone that loves waterbird ecology and hunting, being involved in this project is about as intimate with the management of this group of birds as one can get. I’d do it over again in a heartbeat," Tapp said.

Meet Isabella! 

Isabella Livingston, a PhD candidate in genetics and genomics at North Carolina State University, is researching the first documented cases of heartworm in endangered Galapagos sea lions. Through collaboration with the Galapagos National Park, she discovered the parasite—likely transmitted from free-ranging dogs via mosquitos—using both standard SNAP tests and a more precise DNA-based method she developed. Her genetic test not only confirms heartworm but can also identify related nematodes in multiple species, improving detection accuracy over traditional methods. Livingston’s work highlights the disease risks that introduced dogs pose to native wildlife and provides conservation managers with tools to monitor and manage emerging health threats in the Galapagos ecosystem.

Meet Estela! 

Estela Luengos is a conservationist and researcher in Argentina who studies wild carnivores such as Pampas foxes, Geoffroy’s cats and Andean cats. Her work focuses on understanding how these animals interact with humans, particularly ranchers who often view them as threats to livestock. Through her research and public outreach, she aims to reduce conflict between people and predators by promoting coexistence and educating communities about the ecological value of these species.

Meet Joanne!

Joanne Connolly, a veterinarian and wildlife specialist, played a key role in rescuing and treating injured marsupials during Australia’s devastating 2019–2020 bushfires. At the Wandandian Kangaroo and Wallaby Rehabilitation Centre, she provided critical care to animals suffering from burns, smoke inhalation and other trauma. Connolly is now working with UC Davis to develop a data-driven protocol for wildlife rehabilitation using biomarkers and algorithms to guide treatment decisions. Her broader work includes studying declining species like the platypus and helping restore koala populations in New South Wales.

Meet Bright! 

Bright Olunusi, a wildlife conservation advocate from Nigeria and graduate of Boston University, draws on experiences from rural Africa to urban academia to highlight the interconnected challenges facing wildlife today. She has witnessed how traditional bushmeat practices have shifted into a lucrative trade driven by cultural preferences, economic hardship and climate-induced agricultural disruptions, threatening species like pangolins and elephants. Olunusi calls for holistic solutions that combine environmental education, economic empowerment and climate adaptation strategies, emphasizing cross-sector and cross-border collaboration. Her message underscores that wildlife conservation is a shared global responsibility requiring urgent, collective action to ensure a sustainable coexistence between humans and nature.

Meet David! 

David Saltz is a conservation biologist at Ben Gurion University of the Negev who works to reintroduce long-lost wildlife species to Israel. He has led efforts to bring back species like the Persian fallow deer, Asiatic wild ass and Arabian oryx by developing structured reintroduction programs and breeding facilities. Despite challenges such as limited habitat and geopolitical barriers, Saltz emphasizes the need for international cooperation to ensure long-term success in restoring viable wildlife populations.

Meet Soham!

Soham Mehta, a master’s student at Columbia University, studies how free-ranging domestic dogs impact native wildlife in India, focusing on differences between village dogs and farm dogs. Using GPS collar data from 31 dogs in Shirsuphal, Maharashtra, Mehta found that farm dogs roam far beyond farmland into surrounding grasslands, where they pose a greater threat to species like Indian foxes and Indian gazelles. In contrast, village dogs tend to remain in urban areas. His research highlights the need for targeted education programs for farmers to reduce dog roaming, particularly near protected areas, to help mitigate the risks these abundant carnivores pose to threatened and endangered wildlife.

Meet Steffani!

Steffani Singh, a master’s student at the University of British Columbia, traces her passion for conservation to an unexpected discovery while studying insect diversity in Malaysia. While working on her honors project, she repeatedly encountered a common brown bug that proved impossible to identify—eventually realizing it was likely an undescribed species. This experience revealed to her how little is known about tropical biodiversity, a challenge she also recognizes in her native Jamaica, where many endemic species remain understudied despite facing serious threats. Inspired by successful conservation programs like that of the Jamaican iguana, Singh has dedicated her academic career to gaining the skills needed to research and protect Jamaica’s unique wildlife, believing that safeguarding these species is essential to preserving the nation’s cultural heritage.

Meet Masahiro! 

Masahiro Ohnishi is a wildlife researcher in Japan focused on restoring the country's hunting culture to manage growing populations of Sika deer and Asian black bears, which are causing increased conflicts with humans. Drawing on wildlife management techniques from the U.S. and Canada, he advises government officials and serves as a mentor to students and early-career professionals. Ohnishi is also working to establish a TWS student chapter in Japan to promote international collaboration in wildlife management.

Meet Stephen!

Stephen Blake, an assistant professor of biology at Saint Louis University, is investigating how invasive Spanish cedar forests are disrupting the seasonal migration of critically endangered western Santa Cruz tortoises in the Galapagos Islands. Using GPS tracking devices on tortoises since 2009, Blake found that these giant reptiles largely avoid cedar-dominated areas, navigating instead through small patches of native forest. Because Spanish cedar produces toxic compounds that suppress native vegetation, its spread could block tortoises’ access to the most nutritious seasonal food sources, impacting their energy, survival and reproduction. Blake’s research emphasizes the importance of protecting migration corridors and managing invasive species to safeguard tortoise populations.

Meet Rodney!

Rodney Jackson is a pioneering snow leopard researcher who began studying these elusive cats in the 1980s under extremely challenging conditions in the Nepalese Himalayas. He was the first to collar and track snow leopards using radio telemetry, providing key insights into their behavior and range. Today, Jackson leads innovative research using drones to survey snow leopard prey—argali sheep and Siberian ibex—in Mongolia, allowing for more efficient monitoring of prey populations in rugged terrain. This indirect method helps estimate snow leopard carrying capacity and advances conservation efforts by leveraging modern technology in place of difficult ground surveys.

Meet Alex!

Alex Fish is the threatened species biologist for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. In his role, he spends most of his time working with state- and federally listed species and coordinates the Maine Wildlife Action Plan. Fish is also a past recipient of the Donald H. Rusch Memorial Game Bird Scholarship for his doctoral research on American woodcock migration ecology at the University of Maine. A TWS member since 2011, Fish is a board member of the Maine Chapter of TWS and is a member of the Biological Diversity and Forestry and Wildlife working groups.

Image courtesy of Alex Fish

Meet Kari!

Kari Kingery is the current president-elect of the Montana Chapter of TWS. She is a wildlife biologist and program manager for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Wildlife Management Program. Kingery has studied the effects of small livestock on grizzly bear habitat selection on the Flathead Indian Reservation and works with landowners to reduce human-carnivore conflict. A member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, Kingery has worked with the Tribe since 2008.

Image courtesy of Kari Kingery

Meet Hannah!

Hannah Henry is a coastal scientist, wildlife ecologist and the founding chair of The Wildlife Society’s Coastal and Marine Wildlife Working Group. She has worked across the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean and the U.S. East Coast on projects spanning dolphin-watching compliance, sea turtle-safe fisheries, habitat modeling and stakeholder engagement. She was the 2024 Joe Burns Memorial Policy Intern and has received TWS' Ronald F. Labisky Graduate Fellowship in Wildlife Policy. Currently pursuing her Ph.D. at UNC-Chapel Hill, her research integrates coastal geomorphology, socioecological systems and human decision-making to better understand how barrier islands respond to climate change and management interventions. She is particularly passionate about translating science into conservation strategies that support both ecosystems and coastal communities.

Image courtesy of Hannah Henry

Meet David!

David Kisner has been a Certified Wildlife Biologist since 2014 and has worked as an ecologist in central and Southern California since 1993. David graduated with a bachelor’s degree in evolution and ecology from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a master’s degree in biology from San Diego State University. David is a past board member of the California Central Coast Chapter and a current member of the Western Section Conservation Affairs Committee. Outside of his service to TWS, David has worked with numerous listed bird species, including least Bell’s vireo, southwestern willow flycatcher, snowy plover, least tern, Belding’s savannah sparrow, California gnatcatcher and yellow-billed cuckoo. More recently, David has been working on California tiger salamanders, California red-legged frogs, and tidewater gobies (an endangered small brackish-water fish). Over the years, he has branched out to include work with amphibians, reptiles, bird banding, plant identification, habitat restoration and teaching. David and his wife, Johanna, run a small biological consulting firm with help from their three kids and numerous pets. They have worked with the City of Santa Barbara's Creeks Division for more than 10 years to support creek and estuary restoration by conducting avian, rare plant and tidewater goby surveys and monitoring construction activities near sensitive biological resources.

Meet Orrin!

Orrin Duvuvuei is the statewide deer biologist for New Mexico Department of Wildlife and serves as Chair of the Wildlife Movement and Migration Committee for the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA); he is also New Mexico’s representative on WAFWA’s Mule Deer Working Group and WAFWA’s CWD Working Group. His passion for wildlife developed at a young age as he grew up hunting with his dad and grandfather in West Virginia and Ohio. He received a bachelor’s from Ohio State University and a Master of Science degree from Utah State University studying greater sage-grouse population dynamics and movements. Prior to his work in New Mexico, he worked on big-game, predators, upland game, and non-game species in the eastern and western U.S. A TWS member since 2016, Orrin’s work focuses on statewide and landscape level wildlife management projects, particularly those that facilitate wildlife movement.

Image Credit: Travis Zafarrano