Anna R. Carlson

I grew up in rural northeast Ohio and was the fifth generation to live on my family’s farm. I spent my childhood outside - in the forest and fields that surrounded my house and as I grew older, helping tend my family's small homestead. I learned from an early age to respect nature - the power of storms, the wiliness of wildlife, and the persistence of plants, particularly in places where they are unwanted. These contentious relationships between people and nature have been a part of my life since I was very young and in the small farming community where I grew up, were often resolved with traps, poisons, and bullets.

I was always told I was too soft-hearted to be a farmer. When I decided I wanted to be a scientist, that sentiment followed me. I was told that I cared too much about the subjects in the systems I wanted to study and that my empathy was a hindrance at best and unprofessional anthropomorphization at worst. 

I wholeheartedly disagree. 

My compassion and empathy for the wildlife I study are attributes that define me as a scientist. They lead me to ask questions and seek answers in ways that symbiotically benefit the people and animals in the systems I work within, to mitigate present conflicts and avoid future clashes.