Episode 5. Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant: Racism, Role Models And Bears (Oh, My!)
Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant is a wildlife ecologist who has worked with animals around the world, including lions in Tanzania and bears across North America. She is a force, and perhaps the only Black woman in the world working with bears as a wildlife ecologist. (She literally goes into their dens while they are hibernating!) We talk about the ways in which this work can be isolating, specifically as a Black woman in her field and the challenges of working in such remote areas. We talk about her work, the joy she feels encouraging others to explore this work and how she came to the field, determined that it was where she belonged.
Links to:
Christian Cooper Racist Incident in Central Park and the creation of Black Birders Week
The story of York, an enslaved man who traveled with Lewis & Clark