Mackenzie Borau

Site Affiliation: San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance

… is the Associate Director of Community Engagement at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. In her current role, she is the Graduate Advisor and Manager for the Advanced Inquiry Program and also supervises the Community Engagement’s Conservation Science Experiential Learning sub-team, which includes the Exploring Conservation Science field trip program as well as the Teacher Workshops in Conservation Science program.

She earned a B.S. in Biology from Trinity University (Texas) and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Biological Anthropology from the University of Calgary, Canada. Her dissertation research focused on the behavioral ecology, nutrition, and energetics of wild white-faced capuchin monkeys in Costa Rica. She has experience teaching at the graduate and undergraduate level as well as interdisciplinary research interests and experience in lab and field settings with project development and team-based research. She loves teaching, mentoring and wildlife (especially primates!), and combines these to help students realize their potential and explore their passion for conservation through the AIP.

Mackenzie lives in Escondido, California, with her husband (Javier), daughters (Freyja & Aurora), and dog (Murphy) — they enjoy many activities together in the warm California sunshine!