Catherine Semcer

Catherine Semcer is a conservation biologist whose research explores the frontlines of nature loss and its impacts on human well being. Catherine currently serves as a conservation ambassador for DSC, a US based organization working to ensure the conservation of wildlife through public engagement, education, and advocacy for well regulated hunting and sustainable use. Catherine is also: A PhD student at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom, where she is studying public attitudes towards issues at the intersection of wildlife conservation and national security; a research fellow at the African Wildlife Economy Institute at Stellenbosch University in South Africa; an active member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN); and, a member of the board of advisors of the Game Rangers Association of Africa, the continent’s oldest and largest professional association of conservation law enforcement officers.

Catherine previously served as a research fellow at the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC), a think tank grounded in free market solutions to conservation challenges. Prior to working with PERC Catherine was part of the executive team of a US based NGO supporting African anti-poaching programs with the skills of US military veterans. She spent over a decade working as Sierra Club’s liaison to the Department of Defense, assisting various branches of the military in improving their ability to train warfighters by removing conservation challenges that hindered training opportunities. She began her career at the consulting firm of McKinsey and Company where she was an early member of what is now the Sustainability Practice.

Catherine’s research and commentary have appeared in diverse journals and publications including Conservation Biology, the International Journal of Environmental Studies, The Wall Street Journal, NRA’s Hunter Leadership Forum, and Sports Afield. Her expertise has been sought out in testimony before committees of the US House and Senate and on panels hosted by organizations such as the Brookings Institution, Concordia, and Open To Debate. Catherine’s insights have been quoted in media including The New York Times, the Financial Times, Smithsonian, and Climate One.

Catherine enjoys time spent outdoors and is an avid wingshooter, deerstalker, and angler, Her permanent home is in Maryland, just outside of Washington, DC.