Meet Wildlife in the West 2026!
Courtney Mares
Full Name/Nickname/pronouns:Courtney Mares (she/her)
School and Major (or Current Work if not in school):Ramapo College graduate - Environmental Studies
Where are you from? San Diego, California
What attracted you to this program?I enrolled in this program to gain knowledge and experience in studying wildlife to support coexistence between wolves and humans.
What are you most excited about learning?My top two skills I want to learned are tracking large mammal and carnivores with radio telemetry and interpreting wildlife tracks and sign.
How do you hope to apply what you learn here to whatever goals you have after finishing school/this program? After completion of Wildlife in the West, I intend to pursue a career in wolf telemetry with an emphasis on protection and preservation with a compassionate approach to wildlife by acknowledging that all animals including wolves are sentient creatures with feelings and emotions like humans including fear grief, love, joy, and pain. I want to reduce the deaths of wolves and other wildlife by humans.
What's a fun fact about you? Cilantro tastes like soap to me. I am gluten free, and I love baking.
Shaylee Spicer
Full Name/Nickname/pronouns: Shaylee Spicer (she/her)
School and Major (or Current Work if not in school): University of Iowa - Environmental Engineering
Where are you from? Cedar Rapids, Iowa
What attracted you to this program? I was initially attracted to this program because I have always loved the outdoors and wildlife, and I always wanted to try experiential learning.
What are you most excited about learning? I am most excited about learning all of the plants/trees and animal tracks
Where do you see yourself in 5 years? How do you hope to apply what you learn here to whatever goals you have after finishing school/this program? I hope to apply this knowledge in my career by using my deeper understanding of the environment to improve ecosystems and how we interact with them.
What's a fun fact about you? My fun fact is that I can do a duck call!
Maya Deshpande
Full Name/Nickname/pronouns: Maya Deshpande (she/her)
School and Major (or Current Work if not in school): University of Cincinnati
Where are you from? Cincinnati, Ohio
What attracted you to this program?The main thing that attracted me to the Wildlife in the West program was the hands-on field experience we get, and how the majority of our learning is out in nature rather than sitting in a classroom all day.
What are you most excited about learning? The topics I am most excited to learn about are grizzly bear conservation and wildlife tracks & sign.
How do you hope to apply what you learn here to whatever goals you have after finishing school/this program?I hope to apply my wildlife tracking and identification skills I learned here to my internship later this summer, as well as to my upper-level biology courses in my final year of college. After finishing school, I plan on working in wildlife documentary filmmaking, getting other people as excited about nature as I am!
What's a fun fact about you? A fun fact about me is that I am scuba certified!
Byron Ross
Full Name/Nickname/pronouns: Byron Ross (he/him)
School and Major (or Current Work if not in school): East Central University, double majoring in Ecology and Environmental Health Science
Where are you from? Ada, Oklahoma
What attracted you to this program? I’ve always been passionate about wildlife conservation and wanted to get some experience in the field before going to grad school.
What are you most excited about learning? Methods for studying and managing wildlife in the Northwest. I am especially excited to see some bears and learn how to study them.
How do you hope to apply what you learn here to whatever goals you have after finishing school/this program? I am preparing for graduate school, but haven’t yet figured out exactly what career path I would like to follow. I hope this program will help me figure out what I enjoy doing the most in this field.
What's a fun fact about you? My fun fact is that I bottle fed a baby tiger at the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park (Joe Exotic’s zoo, long before he was arrested) as a child.
Aislyn Cooper
Full Name/Nickname/pronouns: Aislyn Cooper (she/her)
School and Major (or Current Work if not in school):Montana State University- Environmental Science
Where are you from?Bozeman, Montana
What attracted you to this program? I love to learn out in the field and was looking for something fun to do this summer.
What are you most excited about learning?I am excited to talk to specialists and learn more about wildlife.
How do you hope to apply what you learn here to whatever goals you have after finishing school/this program?I hope to apply this education to a career in the wildlife conservation field.
What's a fun fact about you?A fun fact about me is that I have over 30 pets and love animals!
Ellyza Minicozzi
Full Name/Nickname/pronouns: Ellyza Minicozzi (she/her)
School/Major or current work:State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF), where I am pursuing degrees in Wildlife Science as well as Environmental and Natural Resources Conservation.
Where are you from? I was born and raised in Rome, New York
What attracted you to this program?I was drawn to this program because of it’s immersive, hands-on approach to learning. I wanted an opportunity to gain meaningful field experience that would help prepare me for a future career in Natural Resources and Wildlife Conservation. Visiting Montana has also been a dream of mine for many years. Now that I am here, I’m in awe every day when I walk out the door…Montana is truly a special place.
What are you most excited about learning? I am most excited about connecting with professionals currently working in the environmental and wildlife conservation fields and gaining a deeper understanding of the industry from a real world perspective. I am especially interested in learning about the program’s four focal species (Grizzly Bears, Gray Wolves, Canada Lynx, Bull Trout), and understanding their ecological roles, conservation challenges, and current population status.
How do you hope to apply what you learn here to whatever goals you have after finishing school/this program? The educational experience provided through Wildlife in the West offers opportunities that are difficult to find elsewhere. We have access to a wide range of professionals and resources, including the National Grizzly Bear Recovery Coordinator, Timber Foresters, Species Specific Specialists, Restoration Ecologists, Indigenous Community Leaders, and many others. These experiences allow us to explore potential career paths, identify our interests and passions, and engage directly with experts in the field. The hands-on research experience, fieldwork, and professional connections gained through this program will be beneficial regardless of the career path I ultimately pursue.
What's a fun fact about you? A fun fact about me is that I was a member of a TimberSports team while attending SUNY ESF’s Ranger School, where I competed in forestry-based events.
Brianna Abend
Full Name/Nickname/pronouns: Brianna Abend (she/her)
School and Major: UMass Amherst, Natural Resources Conservation
Where are you from? Massachusetts
What attracted you to this program? For a career I want to go into wildlife conservation and also do some traveling. So I thought this program would be a great segway into achieving these goals and getting hands on and experiential learning experiences that would be very beneficial and valuable in the future.
What are you most excited about learning? I am excited to explore the landscapes of the western United States and learn more about the wildlife that inhabit them. I hope to gain a deeper understanding of how species interact with their environment and the factors that influence these ecosystems.
How do you hope to apply what you learn here to whatever goals you have after finishing school/this program? From all the exciting information and experiences I will gain, I want to use this opportunity to help guide my future career path and narrow down the areas of wildlife and conservation that interest me most. I hope to build a broader toolkit of knowledge and skills that I can draw upon when addressing environmental and wildlife-related challenges. This experience will strengthen my understanding of ecological concepts and provide valuable perspectives that I can apply to future research, conservation, and management efforts.
What's a fun fact about you? I can wiggle my ears!
