I am a qualified vet from Chile, and did my dissertation on female mating choices, which involved working with mammal and bird communities from the Atacama desert to the far end of Patagonia. I then broadened my skills during my MSc in Conservation Science (Imperial College London), when I studied habitat-species associations in the Hispaniolan solenodonin the Dominican Republic – one of the most amazing experiences ever. For my PhD in Zoology (University of Oxford), I worked on the ecological aspects of conservation conflicts with African elephants in the Okavango Delta Panhandle, Botswana, which reinforced my passion for conservation and inter-disciplinary work.