Kathy West, has over 30 years of nationally recognized expertise in designing, implementing and teaching unique youth education programs for education organizations. She has successfully designed, illustrated and written children’s activity workbooks for science education, including for primate conservation. She has also conducted scientific field research with wild nonhuman primates as well as done extensive international travel.
A wildlife photographer, scientific illustrator and primatologist, Kathy cares deeply about conservation issues. In 2016 she founded this conservation program, Photography Inspiring Children in Conservation (PICC) to contribute to conservation, education and research, focusing her efforts on the primate extinction crisis. Her goal is to help people in habitat critical communities to feel empowered to support local ecosystem conservation, and inspire children to become conservation leaders within their communities by providing them with skills, knowledge and a passion for conservation through the arts of photography, illustration and writing.
Kathy was recognized through the American Society of Primatologists “2019 Kyes Award for Excellence in Outreach” for her outstanding efforts in outreach education using best practices, creativity, and cultural sensitivity while demonstrating meaningful impact. As an education outreach specialist, Kathy wrote, illustrated and published a highly successful activities workbook that was used in outreach to northern California schools, and was used as a model publication by numerous other primate educators across the country. Kathy designed, illustrated, co-wrote and published 4 conservation coloring and activity books, available as free PDFs here.
Kathy has an extensive background in photography and is a member of the North American Nature Photography Association and an illustrator member of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators since 1985. As a photographer and illustrator, Kathy has had her images appear in many journal articles and textbooks, journal covers, and countless online media outlets internationally.
She first presented the PICC program in Suriname in October 2018, as part of the Fulbright Suriname Forest Fragment Project, and her lead Malagasy team member conducted COVID-abbreviated sessions in villages in Madagascar during 2020 – 2021. Further PICC sessions were just completed in Panama and Uganda.
Education
- BS Zoology / Animal Behavior, 1978 University of California, Davis
- MS Primate Ecology and Behavior, 1981, University of California, Davis; Field research (Sumatra) on siamang ape (Hylobates syndactylus) ecology, behavior and communication
Awards
- Honored Images in 2020, 2021, 2022 Top 250 North American Nature Photography Association;
- Semifinalist in 2017 and 2020 Nature’s Best Photography International Awards
- Semifinalist in 2021 Mkapa Photo Awards, Nature’s Best Photography