![Linda Castañeda](https://miamioh.edu/profiles/project-dragonfly/_images/profile-pictures/staff/linda-castaneda.jpeg)
Linda Castañeda
… is the Lead Trainer for the Cat Ambassador Program at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. She grew up in the concrete jungle of Los Angeles but was inspired by watching David Attenborough throughout her childhood. Linda was immersed in nature when she attended Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon, where she earned a bachelor’s in biology. After starting her biology career in field research in Eastern Oregon and then in Cameroon, she decided to meld her passions for conservation and animals by making her way into the zoo field. Linda received her master’s degree from Miami University and was in the first graduating class of the Global Field Program in 2011. While Linda is obsessed with cheetahs, she also works with global fishing cat conservationists through the Fishing Cat Conservation Alliance, where she serves on the board.