Drew Mallinak

A wildlife biologist, social scientist, and storyteller – Drew wears a few hats. He leverages almost a decade of conservation experiences ranging from working with USDA-APHIS to efficiently distribute raccoon rabies vaccination baits and protecting scarlet macaws from poaching pressures in Belize to interviewing residents about urban greenspace preference and design in St. Louis, Missouri, and Uppsala, Sweden.

When he’s not hands-on with wildlife or interviewing people about them, Drew is weaving them into his stories, as he did while a coordinating officer for Science on Wheels, an oral-storytelling organization dedicated to improving scientific support and understanding across Missouri. Drew also worked previously with the non-profit Sierra Institute for Community and Environment partnering with various state and federal agencies in California to provide technical assistance to rural communities, with the goal of spurring creative economic activity around sustainable forest management.

Drew has a master of science in the human dimensions of natural resources from the University of Missouri and a bachelor of science in wildlife and fisheries management from the University of Tennessee. When not at work, Drew can be found attempting to hook “the big one,” developing a nature-based YouTube channel, trying every craft beer, testing out a new board game, or enjoying a good yarn.