Jill Fernandes, PhD

I am a lifelong student of the beauty that is Nature. I'm fascinated with animals, clouds, and water.

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I'm a scientist, naturalist, sailor, writer, and artist. Growing up on a small farm in Missouri amidst cattle, dogs, cats, and wildlife, I have a deep-seated interest in the workings of nature and the social behaviour of all animals, including humans.

I was lucky enough to learn in the public Lee's Summit School District, where my wonderful teachers coached and supported my love of writing and the sciences, and to get a scholarship to do an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Policy at the sunny University of Miami, Florida, with some incredibly forward-thinking mentors at the Leonard and Jayne Abess Center. During those years and since, I've been a Fulbright Scholar for a year in Heidelberg, Germany, a Graduate Research Fellow of the National Science Foundation (two years of wading through Brisbane's swamps), a published author (after four years of writing), and since 2021, the founder of a beautiful global collaboration to shape a better world for animals, Animal Centric.

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If I could be anyone in history, I would be Charles Darwin. But I think this period of our natural history brings its own unique opportunities, so I'm perfectly content being alive now, just as Jill.

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I don't like CVs. But if you're looking for mine, it's on LinkedIn.