Animal logo for Black Mammalogists Week, which runs 9/13-19

We are becoming a 501(c)(3). Join us as a board member!Check out the job description and submit a CV/resume and cover letter to [email protected] by 11:59 pm local time on March 20, 2024.


What is the purpose of Black Mammalogists Week?To provide opportunities for current and aspiring Black mammalogists across the Diaspora to form conscious, fruitful connections, in addition to illuminating historical and present-day Black contributions to the field of Mammalogy.In our ideal future, young Black people of all backgrounds will realize that they are not only welcome, but needed, and vital, to the future of this field.Apply for our scholarship, the Black and Indigenous Scholars in Mammalogy Award!

Black & Indigenous Scholars in Mammalogy Award ($1500)

Due October 15th 2023


Donate to the award here!

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The Applicant...

  • Is a current, potential, or aspiring Mammalogist

  • Is from or residing in North or South America

  • Is Black/African American, African, and/or Indigenous, as outlined in the United Nations guidelines for identifying Indigenous peoples

  • Is at any experience level may apply, from high school to early and established professionals. There is no age limit

  • If a high school-level applicant, must be asking for funding for a formal course, program, or training related to Mammalogy

  • Doesn't need to be be affiliated with academic institutions

  • Doesn't need to be a current member of the American Society of Mammalogists

To maximize the gains of this award, applications from students and early-career professionals will be given priority over established professionals.

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The Award...

  • Is targeted at research and activities related to mammals

  • Isn't limited to any specific research theme: ecology, behavior, biogeography, genomics, physiology, taxonomy, or any other arena is acceptable

  • Isn't intended to support research on humans (although research on how humans impact non-human mammals could be acceptable)

  • May be used to support the cost of equipment or supplies; field assistants; travel to/from research sites, museums, or other venues for research or coursework; meeting registration cost and travel to meetings; publishing costs; course or training fees; or per diem, as justified by the applicant

  • May not be used for “pay to play” or other exploitative “volunteer” opportunities

  • Is solicited each fall, beginning on September 1 and closing at 11:59 pm PST on October 15, with recipients notified by November 15.

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Application materials must include...

  • Name, email, address, and phone number of the applicant,

  • An itemized budget of proposed activities (including matching funds, if appropriate), ranging from $200 to a maximum of $1,500. Indicate whether you are applying for other funding, and the sources you are applying to,

  • A reference letter from a professional who can speak to 1) the applicant’s current and future work in Mammalogy, 2) how much the applicant has been pursuing alternative funding sources, and 3) how the funds from this award would benefit the applicant’s lab, department, or discipline more broadly. The reference letter must be submitted by 11:59 pm PST on the day the application is due, and

  • A supporting statement with responses (100-500 words each) to each of the questions listed below in one document (PDF or Word document acceptable) with 1” margins, single-spaced, and Arial/Times New Roman/Calibri fonts

  1. What are your goals, interests, and hopes for your future career?

  2. How will this award help you to achieve your career goals, interests, and hopes?

  3. How has being Black/African American, African, and/or Indigenous brought you to where you are now, and how do you see your identities influencing your future career?

  4. How do you see this award benefiting you, as well as your colleagues, friends, mentees, discipline, or community?

  5. If you receive partial funding from this grant that is lower than your submitted budget, how will you use the partial funding?

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We like applications that show...

  • The applicant's quality (not quantity) of efforts and their impact

  • The award will obviously help the applicant professionally and in some way related to mammalogy

  • How the applicant’s identity has contributed to their career goals, interests, and hopes

  • The proposals will have broad impacts and the funds will go further/influence more than the applicant’s specific project

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Apply for the award here!

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Any questions about the application process or the award itself can be directed to Rhiannon Jakopak at [email protected].

We are becoming a 501(c)(3) and looking for board members!

Check out the job description and submit a CV/resume and cover letter to [email protected] by 11:59 pm local time on March 20, 2024.

Gabi Fleury

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Coloring Pages

Kaylee Arnold

Kaylee Arnold: Born in Oceanside, CA, currently living in Athens to complete my PhD. I am a disease ecologist, and I study the gut microbiomes of animals to better understand how infectious diseases are spread across altered landscapes. Fun fact: I regularly teach hip hop and tap dance classes at a local studio.

Kendall Calhoun

Kendall Calhoun: Raised in the Central Valley of California (Tracy, CA woo!), but currently living in Oakland, CA. My research interests revolve around understanding how global change pressures impact community ecology and conservation. Currently, I’m using camera traps and GPS collars to understand the impacts of California wildfires on native mammal communities. Fun fact: I didn’t grow up learning an instrument, but using quarantine to teach myself ukulele.

Gabi Fleury

Gabi Fleury: Originally from Boston MA, I am currently located outside of Washington DC where I work at a conservation NGO and am preparing to go on a Fulbright to Botswana in 2021. My research interests include human-wildlife conflict mitigation, interdisciplinary tech for wildlife development, and community-based conservation, particularly within Southern and Eastern Africa. Fun fact: I was almost an engineer before I went into conservation. I currently co-design environmental education video games and am involved in amateur robotics.

Dr. Nyeema Harris

Dr. Nyeema Harris: Born and raised in Philadelphia. My research focuses on understanding the biogeography of ecological communities. To understand this, I've used biogeochemistry, genetics, telemetry, parasitology, and non-invasive monitoring like camera traps. Fun fact: I lived in Switzerland for a year.

Justine Hudson

Justine Hudson: Born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba. My research focuses on using endocrine techniques to better understand the life histories of Arctic marine mammals and the potential impacts of climate change and human activity. Fun fact: I’m also a beekeeper!

Jen Hunter

Dr. Jen Hunter: I was born and raised in Seattle, WA and currently live in Carmel Valley, CA where I work as the resident director at the Hastings Natural History Reservation, a biological field station of the University of California, Berkeley. I got my PhD in ecology from UC Davis where I studied intraguild competition and predation in mammalian carnivores. Fun fact: In college I worked as a medical assistant and x-ray technician.

Tykee James

Tykee James: North Philadelphia born but not raised, a collection of states is where I spent most of my days: CA, WI, TX. Only to return to Philly for my senior year in high school where I started my career in conversation. My first job was an environmental educator in my own neighborhood. I'm currently based out of D.C. and while I don't study mammals academically, mammalogists' research informs my policy positions. Wildlife conservation is a critical aspect of the environmental movement. It can be a barometer for climate solutions, land management strategies, and even public health. Fun fact: I've been dancing salsa y bachata since I was 12!

Joelle Jenkins

Joelle Jenkins: Hello everyone, my name is Joelle Jenkins and I am from (and currently live in) Denver, Colorado. My research more so looks at the varying identities Black individuals hold and how that may impact their consideration of natural environments (CNE). My research question is “How do elements (i.e., gender, sexuality, socioeconomic status, level of education, etc.) of one’s Black identity inform their experiences with the natural environment, and why do they feel that way?” This is important because race is not the greatest/only indicator of who likes or can show concern for nature. Fun fact: My favorite animal is a spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta).

Rhiannon Kirton holding a huge heart

Rhiannon Kirton: I was raised in the UK and Australia. I currently live in Ontario, Canada. As an MSc student I am studying the spatial interactions and movement ecology of white tailed deer and hunters in the cross timbers ecoregion of Oklahoma. To do this I use GIS and R statistical software. Fun fact: I have tattoos of some of the species I worked with in British Columbia!

D.N. Lee with pouched rat on shoulder.

Dr. Danielle N. Lee: Hometown: Memphis, Tennessee, born and raised in South Memphis. I currently live in the St. Louis Metro area and I am an Assistant Professor of Biology at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. I am interested in the natural history, ecology, and behavior of nuisance rodents. I’m curious to better understand how various mice and rats species continue to vex people no matter where we live or how we live. My research involves live-trapping, marking and release, as well as behavioral responses to novelty such as open field arenas, novel food approach and coping tactics. Fun fact: I’m really good at finding four-leaf clovers.

Asia Murphy

Asia Murphy: Cali-born (west side is the best side), currently in Pennsylvania. My research focuses on answering a variety of population and community-based questions about wildlife using camera traps and I believe that conservation issues today are based firmly in colonial injustices of the past. Fun fact: bungee gum possesses the properties of both rubber and gum.

Jazmin (Sunny) Murphy

Jazmin (Sunny) Murphy: I was raised in Riverside and a rural, middle-of-nowhere town known as Beaumont, CA. After studying both in the University of California, Santa Barbara and remotely through American Public University, I began researching the cognitive and behavioral ecology of Canis latrans, the coyote, primarily using camera traps and tracking. Wildlife research and conservation has always been a central interest in my life, and now, as a writer, I hope to stir up the same enthusiasm I feel for these topics in the public, especially BIPOC. Fun fact: Occasionally, I worked as a drone operator in the Serengeti when studying the Great Migration!

Tommy Parker

Dr. Tommy Parker: I was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee...home of the blues and barbecue, however, I currently reside in Louisville, KY...home of The Greatest and the Derby! My research addresses the question, “What are the habitat and landscape features of cities that influence the ecological adaptations and biodiversity of mammals in urban systems?” I quantify and model vegetation, human created cover (buildings, paved areas, etc.) and population characteristics of mammals at the habitat and landscape scales. At each scale, I focus on the relationship among population-level dynamics, behavior, and resource use. Fun fact: I can sleep standing up.

Dr. Christopher J. Schell

Dr. Christopher J. Schell: My name is Chris Schell, and I’m from Pasadena, CA. My research program asks questions that center on how urban environments drive adaptive behavioral, physiological, and genomic traits in urban carnivores, with a particular eye on the contributions of structural inequalities to such processes. Fun fact: I play alto saxophone, and was part of a band called Saturn Jazz that dropped an (albeit, decades old) album.

Alex Troutman

Alex Troutman: Born in Atlanta, GA and raised in Austell, GA. I’m currently in Statesboro, GA pursuing a masters in conservation biology of wetland systems. I’m looking at the prey and predator relations of arthropods and Seaside Sparrows of Tidal marshes on the Georgia Coast. My most recent mammalian research focused on diversity and abundance of Bat species in Crocker Range National Park in Sabah Malaysia and using camera traps to assess the presence of predators in tidal marshes. As an undergrad I studied early successional habitat selection in Old Field mice. Currently my interactions with mammals is focused on trapping and relocating nuisance mammals like Groundhogs. Fun fact: My name is Troutman but I have never caught or ate a Trout before.

Liz Wahid

Liz Wahid: I am originally from and currently back in Salisbury, NC. I am a Science Illustrator with a wildlife conservation focus. I have a B.S. in Animal Science from Cornell University and am currently finishing up requirements to become a certified Science Illustrator as a graduate student of CSU, Monterey Bay. It is my hope to provide illustrations that help viewers to better understand, identify, and appreciate nature as well as the efforts to preserve it, and that my art aids in more effective communication to the general public. Fun fact: I used to work for the Elephant Listening Project.

Christine Wilkinson

Christine Wilkinson: Born in Queens NY, currently in Oakland CA. My research interests include human-wildlife conflict, understanding carnivore movement in human-modified landscapes, multidisciplinary mapping, and using participatory methods for more effective and inclusive conservation outcomes. Fun fact: I’m a performing member of San Francisco Taiko Dojo.

Tyus D. Williams

Tyus D. Williams: Born in Orange County, CA (West coast best coast), grew up in Alpharetta, GA. My research questions focus on carnivore ecology, utilizing spatial analytical techniques to study the intersection of movement patterns, predator-prey dynamics, human-wildlife conflict, and multispecies interactions across a landscape. My main focus is on wild cats looking at spatial ecology and their role in promoting ecological cascades. Fun fact: I’ve been playing guitar since I was 12 and I’ve played in multiple rock bands growing up.

Rae Wynn-Grant

Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant: Born in San Francisco, CA, currently living in Santa Barbara, CA. My research focuses on the movement and behavior of large carnivores in landscapes with increasing human activity. My main focus is on patterns of black and grizzly bear movement as they recolonize historic habitat in the Western US. Fun fact: For years I was a professional classical musician.

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