Katie Preston

Katie has held a passion for wildlife since the first issue of Zoobooks was delivered to her mailbox. She has maintained an active interest in conservation of at risk species, habitat fragmentation, and mitigating anthropogenic impacts on natural habitats. After receiving her B.S. in Environmental Science from Drake University, she held positions in the Chicagoland region restoring prairie, woodland, and wetland habitat at institutions such as the Chicago Botanic Garden and worked with the Lincoln Park Zoo studying the reintroduction of species of concern to Lake County, IL, including meadow jumping mice, least weasels, and smooth green snakes. Her master's work at North Dakota State University focused on mammalian conservation as a whole, using mixed models to evaluate mammalian extinction risk using measures of population dynamics and asking applied questions about the effects of cattle grazing on small mammal communities in the tallgrass prairie ecosystem. From there she was able to fine-tune her teaching and communication skills by working for North Dakota State University and the National Audubon Society where she developed curriculum and unique outreach opportunities regarding basic science, native habitat, and wildlife across North Dakota. She started with the Stanford Conservation Program in 2018 and regularly finds wonder and joy in the field.