Areas of Expertise: large scale conservation, human dimensions in conservation, community based conservation, wildlife conservation policy development and analysis, stakeholder engagement, human-wildlife conflict 

Sristi Kamal is a Senior Representative for the Northwest Program and is based out of Portland, Oregon. As the Senior Representative for Defenders in Oregon, Sristi works in close collaboration with our local partners and state agencies to protect imperiled species such as the gray wolf, marbled murrelet, martens and southern resident orcas as well as supporting ecological connectivity work and engaging local communities through our community science project. She is also engaged in the state legislature to secure better policies for wildlife in the state.

Her academic and professional focus has been on the socio-economic aspects of biodiversity conservation and in engaging local communities and other stakeholder groups to reach conservation goals. She has worked on conservation and livelihood programs with traditional forest dwelling communities, farmers and other landowners to promote wildlife conservation while securing socio-economic benefits for communities. Prior to starting at Defenders of Wildlife, Sristi worked with Future of Fish as their Global Operations Coordinator, and with Mercy Corps as a consultant with their Climate, Energy and Environment Technical Support Unit. Over the past decade, Sristi worked in different international contexts in Asia (India, Nepal, Timor Leste), Europe (Poland), Africa (Ethiopia) and North America. 

Sristi has a PhD in Ecology from Jagiellonian University (Poland) and a Masters in Environmental Studies from TERI University (India). 

In her spare time, Sristi loves to go hiking with her dog and explore the natural wonders of Oregon. She also loves to train in Muay Thai!