Multimedia Journalist. Wildlife Ecologist. Artist.
Courtney Quirin is a trained wildlife ecologist turned environmental journalist and documentary filmmaker. Though her interests span many topics, she’s particularly keen on capturing multimedia stories about the global wildlife trade, human-wildlife relationships, food security, international development and the effects of global markets on local environments.
Courtney completed a Master’s in Wildlife Management at the University of Otago, New Zealand, where she not only learned how to catch and tag fur seals (among many things), but also traveled to the highlands of Ethiopia to identify the nature and extent of farmer-primate conflict and its linkages to changes in political regime and food security. After New Zealand, Courtney landed at The Ohio State University to investigate urban coyotes for her PhD, but just shy of 2 years deep into the degree, she realized that her true passions lie within investigative journalism and filmmaking. Since moving into the world of journalism, Courtney has worked for Al Jazeera America, produced video content for KQED, and written for Mission Local, Bay Nature Magazine, WildAid and Academia.edu. Courtney is currently studying documentary filmmaking at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism.
Courtney is also an illustrator, drawing anything from editorial cartoons to illustrations for books and films.
Follow me on Twitter: @caquirin
Courtney Illustrates 