Postgraduate Fellow
Ms. Catherine E. Semcer is a DPhil Candidate at the University of Oxford where she works with the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCru.) Catherine’s doctoral research is on the “Size, Contributions, and Effectiveness of Private Sector Anti-Poaching Programs in Sub-Saharan Africa,” and comprises a 44 country survey of game scouts and other wildlife security resources supported by commercial interests and non-governmental organizations. Catherine is also a research fellow with the Property and Environment Research Center in Bozeman, Montana, USA as well as a member of the Board of Advisors of the Game Rangers Association of Africa, and the Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN.) She is an active member of the International Relations Committee of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. Catherine’s previous experience includes serving as a member of the executive team of a small, US based NGO that provided support services to African anti-poaching programs and as the Senior Washington, DC Representative for Sierra Club, America’s oldest and largest grassroots conservation organization. She began her career with the management consulting firm McKinsey and Company working with the sustainability and non-profit practices.
Catherine’s expertise is regularly sought as a witness before US House and Senate Committees; as a panelist at forums hosted by organizations including the Brookings Institution, Concordia, and Intelligence Squared US; and, as a quoted source by The New York Times, The Financial Times, and Smithsonian Magazine. Her research and commentary have appeared in diverse publications including the International Journal of Environmental Studies, Conservation Biology, The Hill, and The Woodrow Wilson Center’s New Security Beat.
Selected Publications and Testimony
- 2022 - Prepared Statement on Preventing Pandemics Through US Wildlife-Borne Disease Surveillance
- 2021 - In Conservation Efforts US Must Support African Countries
- 2021 - Prepared Statement on Wildlife Trafficking and the Growing Online Marketplace
- 2020 - Threats posed to conservation by media misinformation
- 2020 - Ban on hunting trophies risks funding for healthy African ecosystems
- 2019 - Prepared Statement on H.R. 2245, the Conserving Ecosystems by Ceasing the Importation of Large Animal Trophies Act (CECIL Act)
Get updates by email
In a complex and changing world, AWEI generates strategic ideas, conducts independent analysis on wildlife economies, and collaborates with global scholar-practitioners to provide training and expertise for biodiversity conservation, climate resilience, and inclusive economic opportunities in Africa.