Catherine Cavallo

Background

About Catherine Cavallo

I am an accomplished ecologist and communicator passionate about fostering, understanding and celebrating connections between people and nature.My professional expertise and practical experience are grounded in environmental communication, community engagement, and the delivery of impactful experiences. I bring a collaborative, resourceful, and enthusiastic approach to my work.My purpose is to create connections that result in positive-environmental and social outcomes. Curiosity, creativity, understanding and connection are the central tenets of my work and life. Since 2019, I have been employed by Remember The Wild, Australia's leading nature-connection charity. My role as COO has me overseeing our operations and managing projects in addition to my role as Executive Director and as the manager of the Remember The Wild social media. I also manage the social media for some of Remember The Wild's clients, including for Eucalypt Australia. In 2018 I completed a PhD in Ecology, involving a partnership between Monash University and Phillip Island Nature Parks. I studied the foraging ecology and behaviour of the little penguin Eudyptula minor with the ambitious goal of developing this iconic marine predator as an indicator of marine ecosystem health and change. In the process, I spent seven months of each year engaged in daily fieldwork at Phillip Island Nature Parks, where I had constant exposure to tourists and local visitors and endless chances to communicate my research to the public. I also worked closely with government researchers at the Australian Antarctic Division in Tasmania, where I spent two months of each year processing and analysing little penguin diet samples. My first paper from this research was published in Frontiers in Marine Science in 2018. I submitted my thesis in May 2019.In 2013, I completed a MSc in Zoology at the University of Melbourne. My research involved studying and predicting the effects of climate change on the the offspring of endangered sea turtles, using field survey techniques and computer modelling. The results of this research were published in January 2015 in Functional Ecology.I am an avid snorkeller, photographer and bird watcher, with a passion for community engagement, nature connection and science communication.