Maggie Smith (she/her)

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Maggie is an undergraduate student double majoring in Wildlife Conservation and Biology. She joined the Dayer Lab in Fall of 2020 and is excited to delve into the field of human dimensions. She works on assessing the proportion of conservation science conducted on private lands versus public lands. Broadly, her interests lie in ecology, behavior, international development, community based natural resource management, and one health initiatives.  Pre-pandemic, Maggie was lucky enough to study abroad in Botswana where she assisted Dr. Alexander in her study of the Banded Mongoose along with other public health and wildlife disease projects. She also worked on environmental education and outreach initiatives for a local NGO. She experienced firsthand human-wildlife conflict and the wide array of values people hold related to wildlife. This experience prompted her interest in human dimensions and desire to work with communities to implement conservation practices that benefit both people and wildlife.