Alumni Spotlight: Stacia Carrington Tackles the Wildlife Trafficking Crisis
This Alumni Spotlight The series includes interviews with Earth Institute alumni about their career paths, how they became interested in our programs, and any advice that may be useful to current and future students.
Stacia Carrington is an alumnus of Columbia University’s Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy. She now works at Focused Conservation.
Stacia Carrington She had always been known to be forced into conservation work. Growing up in Texas, she spent her spare time exploring creeks, catching tadpoles, and developing a love for the natural world around her. As she further explores her love of nature, she becomes increasingly interested in understanding the plight of elephants and other threatened wildlife around the world, and how to protect them.
After earning an undergraduate degree in pre-med and art history at the University of Texas at Austin, Stacia realized that medical school was not the path she wanted to pursue. When considering her options, she worked as a wardrobe stylist for commercial and print fashion. Soon, she missed out on more analytical work to work as an administrative assistant in private equity and financial management. Although she found these positions to be invaluable learning experiences, Stacia still knew her dream was to work in wildlife conservation. She just doesn’t know how to get her feet into the door.
Living in New York City gave Stacia the opportunity to participate in junior committees for NGOs and nonprofits.her first time with ivory a few years, then as a young patron Wildlife Conservation Society. She has also served as Explorers Club Conservation Committee. As a result, Stacia was finally able to explore opportunities in the conservation world. However, she knew she needed a master’s degree to transition into a full-time career in conservation and fully focus on what she was passionate about.
Stacia was drawn to Columbia University’s Master of Public Administration Environmental Science and Policy (MPA-ESP) course, as it is a “practical course rather than a traditional research master’s course”. She is excited to join a program that will allow her to develop skills in an intensive year-long program to advance her career. Stacia found the program particularly appealing because she learned that many others who graduated from the MPA-ESP program had a huge impact on conservation. Stacia knew that access to Columbia’s resources, as well as the policy focus and international reach of the School of International and Public Affairs, would help her conservation career. She is convinced that it is crucial for her to learn more about policy because it plays such a crucial role in conservation, especially in her main area of interest – combating wildlife trafficking – where good legislation and Effective enforcement is key. Plus, Stacia likes that the program involves a lot of teamwork. The collaborative approach of the MPA-ESP program translates well into real-world work environments, where the best ideas and results come from collaboration.
During the MPA-ESP program, Stacia developed project management skills during a summer policy workshop. She also gained indispensable knowledge about the science behind legislation and improved her analytical skills. “This project produces policymakers who understand the science,” Stacia noted.
Stacia really enjoyed the capstone project of this project because it gave her the opportunity to apply what she had learned. Her peak was at the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). The organization has just joined the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and hopes to present a policy initiative at its inaugural World Conservation Congress (WCC). For their MPA-ESP capstone project, Stacia and her colleagues helped IFAW develop and plan their policy initiative. They reviewed past WCC motions, decisions and recommendations to determine what was successful and why, in order to advise IFAW on what to bring to the WCC. Stacia was delighted to have had the opportunity to prepare two first drafts of motions, one on combating illegal wildlife trade online, which was adopted by the IUCN motions working group. This process helped Stacia better understand the issue of illegal wildlife trade, and ultimately inspired her desire to pursue research on illegal wildlife trade after graduation.
Stacia’s experience in the MPA-ESP program expanded her policy knowledge while also giving her the opportunity to participate in some Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology (E3B). One course she remembers finding particularly interesting was conservation biology Sarah Cross This highlights the gap in knowledge and communication between the world of conservation policy and conservation science.
At the end of her MPA-ESP project, a colleague introduced Stacia about her work. key protection, an organization dedicated to alleviating the wildlife trafficking crisis, and she knew right away that she wanted to work for them after graduation. To get her through the door, Stacia volunteered for the Focused Conservation Program during her final semester of the MPA-ESP program. She also gained more experience by volunteering at another organization called Zooterra, where she worked in conservation partnerships with other organizations, in the role of Director of External Relations.
After graduating from the MPA-ESP program in 2019, Stacia was awarded the position of a Conservation-focused Policy Engagement Advisor. This job allows Stacia to draw on her science-based policy background from the MPA-ESP program, as the organization places emphasis on policy education in their work.
Stacia is proud to work for such a unique and results-driven organization.founder William Brown, a former DEA agent and Kenyan attaché, the group has expertise in investigating illegal wildlife trafficking and understands the criminal organization behind it. Focused Conservation is able to gather intelligence on the ground through investigations and interactions with government officials. The group also provides briefings about the investigation directly to government officials. Stacia is satisfied with her work on the illegal wildlife trade crisis, not only because of her passion for conservation, but also because the issue of wildlife trafficking overlaps with many other important issues, including national security and global health.
Stacia’s current project at Focused Conservation, Voices from the Arena, will serve as an educational tool for members of Congress, foreign government officials, the private sector, and more. The goal is to build a sense of urgency and foster momentum for policy initiatives on wildlife trafficking in the U.S. and internationally. Stacia is currently working on project management for the Voice of the Arena pilot project. She has also spearheaded a pilot proposal, and through this work she has been able to attract the necessary funding for her program. Currently, Stacia’s day job also includes spending a lot of time on the phone coordinating and handling public relations, as well as distribution and media strategy for Voices from the Arena.
Stacia’s other project participation in Focused Conservation, the Global Synchronization Initiative, is based on intelligence sharing to fill knowledge gaps, capability gaps and connectivity gaps surrounding wildlife trafficking. She has done a lot of management work in the program to better inform policy through improved information sharing.
In the long run, Stacia sees herself continuing on her current path. She is where she wants to be: working on policy, advising on wildlife trade policy in particular, and educating policymakers on the issue to help them link policy to action on the ground. She is also determined to more effectively connect field workers (for example, rangers and investigators fighting wildlife trafficking) with policymakers, making policy more informed and effective.
In conservation, as well as many other disciplines, Stacia believes building good relationships is critical. She suggested that anyone wanting to work in conservation should make time for networking and “don’t be afraid to reach out to people to connect.”
“Successful conservation requires a concerted effort, and more organisations need to take a collaborative approach,” she said. “[W]When you know what other people are doing, you end up thinking about problems from multiple different perspectives and understanding that different groups are solving problems in different ways. Often, you’ll find that partnering with people who take a different approach can lead you to the best overall strategy for achieving your goals. “
Stacia also stressed that perseverance is essential if you want to work in conservation. “If you know in your heart that you want to make a difference in conservation, just stick with it and eventually it will happen. Get a job that puts you in a different department, [and] Stick to the role you really want, especially if you have some experience. Have a strategic vision. The internet. Express your true passion and you’ll get there. “
If you are interested in learning more about the MPA-ESP program, please contact Assistant Director Pearl Gray (pfg2108@columbia.edu) with any questions or to schedule a campus tour.
