About

About the Author

Hello, and welcome to The Jaguar and its Allies. My name’s Josh, and I’m a science enthusiast who loves to learn about wildlife, psychology, archaeology, and more. I particularly enjoy thinking about ways to use insights from the social sciences to further the cause of wildlife conservation, but it has taken me many years to realize this.

In 2015, I was a master’s student in Cleveland State University’s mental health counseling program. I then became entangled in a project involving the historic range of jaguars in the United States, and suddenly remembered that my oldest passion was for wildlife.

I subsequently left my counseling program, started this blog, and earned a master’s degree from Humboldt State University that combines the social and ecological sciences.

My master’s thesis dealt with media framing in wildlife television, which I’ve summarized here.

I’m currently serving as an AmeriCorps volunteer. I recently completed a 5-month service term in Boulder, Colorado, and have just begun an 11-month term in Montana.

For my current AmeriCorps position, I’m working as a Cultural and Heritage Park Steward with the Montana State Parks. I’m stationed at Chief Plenty Coups State Park on the Crow Reservation, where I perform duties related to museum management, public education, community outreach, and trail work.

If you’d like to learn more about me, I recommend visiting my Facebook and LinkedIn profiles, or reading my first blog post.

About the Blog

When The Jaguar and Allies first launched, it was all about big cats – especially jaguars. There were also a few posts about social psychology and the human dimensions of conservation.

Slowly but surely, I’ve expanded this blog’s focus. In the summer of 2017, I had an opportunity to participate in an archaeology field school in Belize, so archaeology entered the picture. 

Furthermore, there are many people who are working hard to lessen the impacts of the sixth mass extinction. These include conservation biologists, communications specialists, social scientists, artists, naturalists, outdoors enthusiasts, and more. These individuals and organizations all have important roles to play, and I try to recognize their efforts through Q&A’s, interviews, and the other posts in the “Ally Spotlight” category.