Becoming a Leading Wildlife Ecologist
Wildlife ecologist Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant is known for her conservationism as well as her storytelling. In this compelling program, Dr. Wynn-Grant shares the journey that brought her to her expertise – studying black bears in the Western United States – as well as her advocacy for equity and justice, empowering the next generation of STEM leaders, and why everyone deserves to experience nature for themselves.
How Humans & Wildlife Interact
Renowned wildlife ecologist Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant has studied ‘mega-fauna’ (large carnivores) all over the world, and currently studies black bears in the Western United States. In this engaging program, she shares her expertise in the field, her experience in STEM, how humans and wildlife interact, and how everyone can experience the joy of natured in their own way.
What Self-Care Means When Working in STEM
As a leader and expert in the field of wildlife ecology, Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant describes a career in science, exploration, and conservation as a career of service to the world. In this empowering talk, Dr. Wynn-Grant shares her insights about using self-care and maintaining mental health & wellbeing to be not only your best self, but also the best scientist you can be.
Increasing Diversity in STEM
Renowned wildlife ecologist and storyteller Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant is an impactful advocate for equity and justice, especially when it comes to creating opportunities for marginalized young people to experience nature for themselves. She was introduced to nature through educational TV shows, learned about careers in environmental science in college, and eventually experienced the outdoors for herself. Dr. Wynn-Grant shares her journey and her belief that passion is just as important as experiences outdoors and performance in school, offering a motivational perspective about creating equal opportunities in STEM.
For renowned wildlife ecologist Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant, equity in STEM means having the chance to be empowered by experiences in nature
Wildlife ecologist and podcaster DR. RAE WYNN-GRANT isn’t only a renowned conservationist – she has been called “the Jane Goodall of black bears” – she is also an incredible storyteller. In a riveting keynote for An Evening Outside with NatureBridge, for which Dr. Wynn-Grant is a regional board member, she illuminated what it means to create equity and access for young people to experience nature: education, opportunity, and empowerment. The Going Wild with Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant podcast host grew up in the big city, and her early introduction to nature was through television shows. Now a research fellow with the National Geographic Society, Dr. Wynn-Grant is inspiring the next generation and uses media to increase representation of Black scientists and explorers. She offers keen insights about offering empowering experiences in nature, so students can decide for themselves with all the options on the table. In her motivational speaking engagements, Dr. Wynn-Grant shares how a career in science, exploration, and conservation is a career of service to the world.
Watch Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant’s keynote at NatureBridge >>
Rae Wynn-Grant is a wildlife ecologist who researches how human activity influences the behavior of wild animals. As an active scientist, she spends long periods in the wilderness tracking and observing black and grizzly bears in the western United States, and African lions in rural Kenya and Tanzania. Her wildlife exploration and media work has taken her to six of seven continents and over 25 countries.
A native Californian, Wynn-Grant attributes her interest in wildlife and conservation from the nature shows she watched on television as a child, and today she uses media to increase representation of Black scientists and explorers.
Wynn-Grant received her BS in Environmental Studies from Emory University, her MS in Environmental Studies from Yale University, and her PhD in Ecology and Evolution from Columbia University. She is a faculty member at the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at University of California at Santa Barbara. Wynn-Grant envisions a near-future where the outdoors is a safe, equitably accessible, and positively transformative space for all people. She is a scientist, conservationist, equity and justice advocate, and storyteller.
Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant is the host of the PBS podcast, Going Wild with Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant, which takes listeners deep into the heart of the world’s most remote jungles, savannas, tundras, mountains, and deserts with her as she studies wild animals in their natural habitats. She is also the Host of the NBC series, Wild Kingdom - a new version of the iconic wildlife show premiering Fall 2023.