Stephanie Manka (formerly Schuttler)
Wildlife Biologist and Science Communicator, Fancy Scientist LLC
I am a wildlife biologist and science communicator. My research lays at the intersection of mammal ecology, citizen science, and education. I founded and run FancyScientist.com, a site dedicated to connecting people to science and nature, breaking stereotypes of scientists, and empowering scientists. If you’re a scientist or scientist-to-be, you’ll find lots of resources to guide you through this career.
My background is mainly in species conservation, education and capacity development. I researched mother-young interactions in gorillas and chimpanzees, in captivity and the wild. After that, I worked for three years in Indonesia, where I developed and implemented youth ambassador and community engagement programmes on local and regional scales. I work as Community Manager at WildHub since 2020, and I am on the Advisory Board of the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) at the University of Kent where I obtained my PhD on capacity development for conservation in 2022.