Christine Wilkinson

Background

About Christine Wilkinson

Christine Wilkinson is a wildlife ecologist, urban ecologist, conservation scientist, science communicator, and advocate. She is passionate about incorporating multiple ways of knowing in order to understand and address the needs of people, wildlife, and their surrounding environments. She also appreciates the power of inclusive storytelling to achieve environmental justice and social change, and has therefore prioritized appearances on radio, podcasts, TV/streaming, science comedy performances, and live talks for all ages. Christine considers transdisciplinary approaches to be key for holistically understanding environmental problems and empowering people to create lasting solutions. She is particularly interested in the intersections between environmental justice, human-wildlife conflict, and conservation policy, and has conducted relevant research, collaboration, and outreach in East Africa and the United States. Both abroad and domestically, Christine has participated in grassroots environmental and educational efforts, such as co-founding Black Mammalogists Week (blackmammalogists.com) and community co-created outreach aimed at instilling in people an understanding of ecology and a "sense of place" from a young age. Christine conducted her dissertation on carnivore movement and human-carnivore coexistence in the Dept. of Environmental Sciences, Policy, and Management. Along with working with large carnivores and people in East Africa, Christine is currently a research associate at the California Academy of Sciences, working on social-ecological drivers of carnivore movement, ecology, and coexistence through an environmental justice lens. She is a National Geographic Explorer, a Switzer Fellow, a Schmidt Science Fellow, and a member of the IUCN SSG Hyaena Specialist Group. She also spends her time performing with San Francisco Taiko Dojo and working on her science communication skills through speaking events, workshops, and acting. Specialties: Animal Behavioral, Conservation, Science Communication, Environmental Justice, Ecology, GIS, Remote Sensing, Environmental Education, Digital Media Education, Musical Performance: taiko drumming, guitar, voice, cello