Black Mammalogists Week
2026
Support Black Mammalogist Week with a gift to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles
Please send us an email to inform us of your gift and get entered into a raffle!
Thank you, Anonymous Orca!
Beth Winkler
Robin Henry
Richard Marcks, Jr.
Debra Moniz
Anonymous Raccoon
Check out the upcoming events!
What is the purpose of Black Mammalogists Week?To provide opportunities for current and aspiring Black mammalogists across the Diaspora to form conscious, fruitful connections, in addition to illuminating historical and present-day Black contributions to the field of Mammalogy.In our ideal future, young Black people of all backgrounds will realize that they are not only welcome, but needed, and vital, to the future of this field.Apply for our scholarship, the Black and Indigenous Scholars in Mammalogy Award! See past awardees here.
Black Mammalogists Week 2026 Schedule
Daily
We're also giving away three Society of Conservation Biology memberships to early-career people. Entry ends on Saturday October 17th at 4pm PST.Please enter to be part of this giveaway here.
October 11th: #BMW2026RollCall
“When I discover who I am, I’ll be free.”
-Ralph Ellison, Black author
Meet Black scientists, conservationists, & other experts shaping mammalogy & their community on Twitter, bluesky, Instagram, & Threads.Solve our daily puzzles. Screenshot the completed puzzle & post with #BMW2026 to get entered into a giveaway. Sunday's prizes are a Black Mammalogists Week T-shirt & Black Mammalogists Week stickers!
October 12th: #BMW2026Resist
"The secret of our success is that we never, never give up.”
-Wilma Mankiller, Cherokee activist
Register for:
9 am PST (UTC - 7): Conservation from the Ground Up: A Panel with NatGeo Explorers
Predict who you think will win in the first ever Clash of the Sponsors!In collaboration with March Mammal Madness, this five-way battle is sure to be one for the ages!Follow it in real-time on Twitter & bluesky starting at 4 pm PST.
Solve our daily puzzles. Screenshot the completed puzzle & post with #BMW2026 to get entered into a giveaway. Monday's prizes are:
A copy of Tyus Williams' Secrets of the Museum Predators (pre-release)
Don't forget to enter for a chance to win a Society of Conservation Biology membership. Entry ends on Saturday October 17th at 4pm PST.
October 13th: #BMW2026Create
"Art is not escape, but a way of finding order in chaos, a way of confronting life.”
-Robert Hayden, Black poet
Share your mammal-related art on Twitter, bluesky, Instagram, & Threads with us & gain inspiration from other artists.Register for:
10 am PST (UTC - 7): Hero Animals & How to Draw Them with Liz Wahid & Dr. Danielle Lee
Solve our daily puzzles. Screenshot the completed puzzle & post with #BMW2026 to get entered into a giveaway. Tuesday's prizes are:
Two (2) Browning trail cameras
A copy of Tyus Williams' Secrets of the Museum Predators (pre-release)
Don't forget to enter for a chance to win a Society of Conservation Biology membership. Entry ends on Saturday October 17th at 4pm PST.
October 14th: #BMW2026Innovate
"We create our future, by well improving present opportunities: however few and small they are.”
-Lewis Latimer, Black inventor
Learn about innovations in the ways we study & relate to mammals.Register for:
10 am PST (UTC - 7): Mammals & Birds: Not So Different After All?
with Julian Nesbitt & Dr. Cesar Estien
Solve our daily puzzles. Screenshot the completed puzzle & post with #BMW2026 to get entered into a giveaway. Wednesday's prizes are:
Two (2) Browning trail cameras
Don't forget to enter for a chance to win a Society of Conservation Biology membership. Entry ends on Saturday October 17th at 4pm PST.
October 15th: #BMW2026Resilience
"Our history is a living history, that has throbbed, withstood and survived many centuries of sacrifice. Now it comes forward again with strength.”
-Rigoberta Menchú Tum, K'iche' activist
Gain inspiration from the ways mammals, including people, can learn to survive & thrive in changing worlds.Register for:
10:30 am PST (UTC - 7): African Wildlife Filmmakers Showcase
Solve our daily puzzles. Screenshot the completed puzzle & post with #BMW2026 to get entered into a giveaway. Thursday's prizes are:
Two (2) Browning trail cameras
Don't forget to enter for a chance to win a Society of Conservation Biology membership. Entry ends on Saturday October 17th at 4pm PST.
October 16th: #BMW2026Community
"We need each other. We have to have each other for our survival.”
-Kwame Ture, Black Pan-African activist
Join us at the first in-person Black Mammalogists Week event at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.
There will be additional raffles for items that can only be won by joining us at the Natural History Museum!
Join us there!
Solve our daily puzzles. Screenshot the completed puzzle & post with #BMW2026 to get entered into a giveaway. Friday's prizes are:
Don't forget to enter for a chance to win a Society of Conservation Biology membership. Entry ends on Saturday October 17th at 4pm PST.
October 17th: #BMW2026Celebrate
"Strong communities are born out of individuals being their best selves.”
-Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Mississauga Nishnaabeg artist
It's been a long but empowering week! Celebrate with us your achievements, big or small, & the achievements of past and present Black mammalogists.
Solve our daily puzzles. Screenshot the completed puzzle & post with #BMW2026 to get entered into a giveaway. Saturday's prizes are:
Three (3) Society of Conservation Biology memberships (enter here by 4pm PST)
Black & Indigenous Scholars in Mammalogy Award ($1500)
Due October 30th 2026
Donate to the award here!
T
The Applicant...
Is a current, potential, or aspiring Mammalogist
Is from or residing in North or South America
Is Black/African American, African, and/or Indigenous, as outlined in the United Nations guidelines for identifying Indigenous peoples
Is at any experience level may apply, from high school to early and established professionals. There is no age limit
If a high school-level applicant, must be asking for funding for a formal course, program, or training related to Mammalogy
Doesn't need to be be affiliated with academic institutions
Doesn't need to be a current member of the American Society of Mammalogists
To maximize the gains of this award, applications from students and early-career professionals will be given priority over established professionals.
See past Black and Indigenous Scholar Awardees here!
T
The Award...
Is targeted at research and activities related to mammals
Isn't limited to any specific research theme: ecology, behavior, biogeography, genomics, physiology, taxonomy, or any other arena is acceptable
Isn't intended to support research on humans (although research on how humans impact non-human mammals could be acceptable)
May be used to support the cost of equipment or supplies; field assistants; travel to/from research sites, museums, or other venues for research or coursework; meeting registration cost and travel to meetings; publishing costs; course or training fees; or per diem, as justified by the applicant
May not be used for “pay to play” or other exploitative “volunteer” opportunities
Is solicited each fall, beginning on September 1 and closing at 11:59 pm PST on October 30, with recipients notified by November 15.
T
Application materials must include...
Name, email, address, and phone number of the applicant,
An itemized budget of proposed activities (including matching funds, if appropriate), ranging from $200 to a maximum of $1,500. Indicate whether you are applying for other funding, and the sources you are applying to,
A reference letter from a professional who can speak to 1) the applicant’s current and future work in Mammalogy, 2) how much the applicant has been pursuing alternative funding sources, and 3) how the funds from this award would benefit the applicant’s lab, department, or discipline more broadly. The reference letter must be submitted by 11:59 pm PST on the day the application is due, and
A supporting statement with responses (100-500 words each) to each of the questions listed below in one document (PDF or Word document acceptable) with 1” margins, single-spaced, and Arial/Times New Roman/Calibri fonts
What are your goals, interests, and hopes for your future career?
How will this award help you to achieve your career goals, interests, and hopes?
How has being Black/African American, African, and/or Indigenous brought you to where you are now, and how do you see your identities influencing your future career?
How do you see this award benefiting you, as well as your colleagues, friends, mentees, discipline, or community?
If you receive partial funding from this grant that is lower than your submitted budget, how will you use the partial funding?
T
We like applications that show...
The applicant's quality (not quantity) of efforts and their impact
The award will obviously help the applicant professionally and in some way related to mammalogy
How the applicant’s identity has contributed to their career goals, interests, and hopes
The proposals will have broad impacts and the funds will go further/influence more than the applicant’s specific project
T
Apply for the award here!
T
Any questions about the application process or the award itself can be directed to Rhiannon Jakopak at [email protected].
Black & Indigenous Scholars Awardees
2025
Alannah Grant
University of Guelph
Desireé Outten-Berríos
Duke University
Izabelle Jaquet
Illinois Natural History Survey
Jennifer White
University of Central Florida
Maya Philipp
Syracuse University
2024
Alexander Fenlon
Arizona State University
Cheyenne Graham
University of Michigan
Lizzy Osterhoudt
Montana State University
Madisun Woodward
University of Michigan
2023
Deandra Jones
University of Arizona
Tommy Herrera
University of California, Berkeley
Tabitha McFarland
Explora Science Center & Children's Museum
Ilana Mosley
Texas A&M University
2022
Juann Aryell Francsico de Holanda Abreu
Universidade Federal de Pernambuco
Ingrid Beatriz Ferreira Paixão
Federal University of Uberlândia
Veronarindra Ramananjato
(she/her)
University of California, Berkeley
Text
Coloring Pages
Black Mammalogists Week 2026 Organizers
Dr. Kaylee Arnold is an urban disease ecologist who focuses her research and community outreach on understanding how urbanization affects the spread of infectious diseases between wildlife and humans.
Dr. Kendall Calhoun (he/him) is an Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia in the Department of Zoology. His research examines how altered fire regimes and natural disturbances impact wildlife communities and human-wildlife interactions.
Dr. Cesar Estien is an urban ecologist at Second Nature Ecology + Design. He specializes in understanding how inequity structures the ecology of cities and the subsequent implications it has on people and wildlife. Cesar works with and alongside organizations and businesses to understand and manage their local ecology.
Aalayna Green earned her B.S in Zoology from Michigan State University. She is pursuing a Ph.D. in natural resources & the environment at Cornell University with a minor in feminist, gender, & sexuality studies. Green studies the systemic and social processes of conservation peacebuilding efforts within protected areas in Southern Africa and globally. She is particularly interested in the effects of these processes on security, governance, and advocacy.
Joelle Jenkins is an interdisciplinary sustainability scientist and storyteller with a deep focus on integrating social justice and environmental stewardship into comprehensive sustainability practices. Her work specializes in examining how sustainability knowledge is developed, disseminated, and applied—particularly in contexts that have historically sidelined diverse communities. This involves analyzing data, frameworks, and models to identify gaps and opportunities for more inclusive and effective sustainability solutions.
Dr. Danielle N. Lee is a biologist and outreach scientist who studies the behavioral biology and natural history of nuisance rodents over human-modified environmental gradients with community stakeholders.
Jazmin (Sunny) Murphy earned a B.Sc. in Zoology from the University of California, Santa Barbara and an M.Sc. degree in Environmental Policy and Management (concentration: Fish and Wildlife Management) from American Public University, where she is currently studying Sociology.Her research focuses on the intersections of culture, ideology, legislation, economics and land use with canid ecology, with special emphasis on Black and Indigenous communities in the United States. By combining the study of coyote behavior and cognition with these intersections, she aims to further develop nonlethal adaptive management techniques that are equitable across cultures and species.
Dr. Asia Murphy:
Asia is a native Californian interested in how humans and our environments influence wildlife and interactions between species. She moonlights as a photographer and speculative fiction writer.
Julian Nesbitt is an ecologist who specializes in birds. His work mainly consists of performing field surveys for nesting birds, frogs, small mammals and other species in areas where different utility projects are occurring.
Dr. Tommy Parker is an urban wildlife ecologist and Journal of Urban Ecology editor. His research focuses on urban wildlife behavior and population dynamics, as he applies artificial intelligence systems models and quantitative methods to ecological modeling.
Alex Troutman is a wildlife biologist and author. He has several years of experience in the field, working with various wildlife species. Alex shares wildlife facts and photos on social media as N8ture AL.
Liz Wahid is a Certified Science Illustrator from North Carolina with a focus on ornithology and wildlife conservation. Her backgrounds in fine art, animal science, and zookeeping constantly inspire her current works.
Dr. Christine Wilkinson is a carnivore ecologist, conservation scientist, and National Geographic Explorer at NHM. Her work in California and Kenya combines animal behavior and community engagement to understand how people and wildlife share landscapes—and how we can coexist.
Tyus Williams is a wildlife ecologist and PhD Candidate at UC Berkeley in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management. His research focuses on investigating how characteristics of urban environments potentially exacerbate the ecological impacts free-roaming domestic cats have on native wildlife communities.
Past Black Mammalogists Week Organizers
