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 an animal welfare scientist, a naturalist, a sailor, and an 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 fortunate to learn to write in the Lee's Summit School District, where the writing teachers are brilliant and inspirational, and to do an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Policy through the mind-opening Leonard and Jayne Abess Center at the sunny University of Miami. Since then, I've been a Fulbright Scholar (which involved a year of fun in Heidelberg, Germany), a Graduate Research Fellow of the National Science Foundation (two years of fun in Brisbane's swamps), and the founder of my passion project, Animal Centric.

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If I could be anyone in history, I would be Charles Darwin...either him or a Paleolithic cave artist. 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.