Kate Vanelli

My name is Kate Vannelli, and I have always loved cats. My first word was ‘cat’, and all of my science class reports growing up were focused on cheetahs. So during University, when I had the opportunity to intern with the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia, I was beyond excited. That internship developed into a three year job, which led to my MSc. at DICE, where I worked with Panthera and the Snow Leopard Conservancy – India Trust. After I finished my MSc., I worked as a field assistant for the Namibia national leopard census, setting up camera traps and looking at the threats facing leopards across Namibia. The more I became involved in the world of big cat conservation, the more I saw the necessity of working with people, and that is the direction I want to take my conservation career.