Alumni Spotlight: Sage Solomine Raises Funds for Huge Cat Conservation
The Alumni Spotlight series consists of interviews from Earth Institute alumni about their career courses, how they became thinking about Earth Institute programs, and any advice that would be useful to current and future trainees.
Sage Solomine always knew that she wanted to work in conservation, which she wished to focus on safeguarding wild cat species– especially big cats.
Sage Solomine is a graduate of the MPA in Environmental Science and Policy program at Columbia University. She currently works as the grants manager for institutional offering at Panthera, the only nonprofit concentrated on all 40 wild cat types.
After finishing from Columbia Universitys Masters in Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy (MPA-ESP) program in 2019, she got a job with the Wildlife Conservation Society. She operated in development there for practically two years, concentrated on fundraising for types preservation. During this time, Sage likewise volunteered at donor occasions held at the Bronx Zoo. She discovered this experience inspiring and learned that she actually loves fundraising work, particularly due to the infectious and charming enthusiasm that the donors revealed for the animals and for wildlife preservation.
During her childhood, Sage was always outdoors or checking out local wildlife societies with her mommy, discovering as much as she could about the animals. Her interest in big felines during her childhood was in part motivated by zoologist Laurie Marker and reading about her deal with cheetah populations. As an outcome, when it was time for Sage to pursue an undergraduate degree, she picked Cornell University, where Marker is a professor-at-large, and made a Bachelor of Science degree in animal science with a small in worldwide studies. From Cornell, Sage did an internship in conservation science with cheetahs and realized that she could do more to secure big cat types through policy and leadership work. Thats what led her to begin looking into the MPA-ESP program as a next step.
Columbia Universitys MPA-ESP program stood out to Sage compared to similar programs mainly because of the speed. In addition, since Sage had focused on science during her undergraduate program, she was excited about the opportunities to expand her skillset by finding out more about financing, interaction, and policy as provided by Columbias MPA-ESP program.
Sage states she feels grateful for all that she learnt more about financial resources and management in the program. She remembers a course with Lucius Riccio that taught her to believe seriously about how to make processes more effective and transparent, which is essential in her conservation work. Sage likewise keeps in mind that Sara Tjossem pressed her to believe outside package and end up being a much better issue solver by approaching an issue from various angles (e.g., think about services from a science point of view versus an economics viewpoint versus a policy angle). Sage discovered Tjossem to be a fantastic mentor, along with Adrian Hill, who helped Sage develop essential expert skills and get ready for the task application procedure.
Sage likewise learned a lot about global and US governmental firms in the MPA-ESP program, as well as the worth of collaborations. The lessons about how to interact with these companies in their language and how to write policy have actually been extremely beneficial for her conservation work.
Sage presently works as the grants supervisor for institutional giving at Panthera, the only not-for-profit focused on all 40 wild feline species. Most similar nonprofits only have the resources to support conservation of “big cat” types; Sage discovers it exciting to be able to money conservation of smaller sized wild feline species. These journeys permit Sage the opportunity to engage with the science, which she really appreciates.
Due to the fact that she got a communications-focused internship with Panthera during her spring term in the MPA-ESP program, sage was able to get her foot in the door at Panthera. During the internship, she dealt with social networks, composing blog sites and press releases. This internship opened doors for Sage that resulted in her first job at the Wildlife Conservation Society, and later on enabled her to go back to Panthera in a various role. Sage never anticipated to enjoy operating in development and fundraising so much, however the grueling job search process taught her that in addition to the importance of being relentless and not getting dissuaded, it can also be helpful to be open to different kinds of functions in preservation. You never know just how much you might enjoy a job till you give it a possibility, and for Sage, working towards protecting wildlife– especially wild felines– is the concern, and there are numerous ways to contribute. This is why Sage felt that the diverse skillset that she established between her undergraduate work and the MPA-ESP program at Columbias School of International and Public Affairs prepared her to achieve her objectives.
In the future, Sage wishes to continue to grow with Panthera and ultimately shift to a leadership function from which she can work more on grants than fundraising. She would likewise be interested in pursuing a director position at a non-profit eventually in her profession. Regardless of where she ends up, and in what function, her concern is consistent: she wants to continue to pursue securing huge felines.
Sage encourages future MPA-ESP graduates to bear in mind to be open-minded to all chances. “Think creatively about various methods to work towards your objectives and add to what youre enthusiastic about,” she says. “You never know how things will work out for you. In addition, be consistent and work hard to make significant connections with individuals. Make sure to make use of the resources readily available to you in the MPA-ESP program.”
Please contact assistant director Stephanie Hoyt ([email protected]) with any concerns or to set up a school visit if youre interested in learning more about the MPA-ESP program.
From Cornell, Sage did an internship in preservation science with cheetahs and understood that she could do more to safeguard huge feline types through policy and leadership work. Sage found Tjossem to be a fantastic coach, along with Adrian Hill, who assisted Sage develop crucial expert abilities and prepare for the task application process.
Sage presently works as the grants supervisor for institutional providing at Panthera, the only not-for-profit focused on all 40 wild cat types. Sage never ever anticipated to like working in development and fundraising so much, but the grueling job search process taught her that in addition to the significance of being consistent and not getting dissuaded, it can also be helpful to be open to different types of roles in preservation. You never ever know how much you may like a job till you give it a chance, and for Sage, working towards safeguarding wildlife– particularly wild cats– is the concern, and there are many ways to contribute.
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Alexis Earl|December 9, 2021
