Hi everyone, my name is Vicki Villanova and I have my BS in Zoology from the University of Florida and my MS in Biology from the University of Central Florida. My early career was heavily focused on conservation and population genetics in fish, African crocodiles, and the endangered Florida Key deer. After grad school I worked for 6 years at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium as their Conservation Genetics Lab Manager. At Omaha Zoo I fell in love with lemurs and capacity building in Madagascar. I have extensive experience in grants management, including European Union grants. Currently, I am the Development Associate for the Conservation Centers for Species Survival and I started with this nonprofit in May of this year. We are working to expand our programs and communication and looking forward to where the rest of the year takes us.
Originally from Florida, USA, I received my Bachelors of Science in Zoology from the University of Florida while pursuing research on African dwarf crocodiles and population genetics. I then went to the University of Central Florida to receive my Masters of Science in Biology, publishing my first peer-reviewed paper on the demography and population structure of the endangered Florida Key deer using non-invasive genetic sampling. In 2018 I moved to Nebraska, USA, to work at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium where I worked as the program and grants manager to their field conservation project in Madagascar, the Madagascar Biodiversity Partnership, a Malagasy NGO. Currently, I work for the Conservation Centers for Species Survival, as their Development Associate.
