The Wildlife Society welcomes its summer 2025 policy and communications intern, Kaylyn Zipp
TWS welcomes its summer 2025 policy and communications intern, Kaylyn Zipp.
Zipp grew up in Broad Channel, Queens, in the heart of New York City, admiring the sights and sounds of her backyard, the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. Zipp completed her bachelor’s in environmental science with a concentration in watershed science at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF), where she worked on a variety of research projects including the Chittenango ovate amber snail (Novisuccinea chittenangoensis), common terns (Sterna hirundo), blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis) and trout perch (Percopsis omiscomaycus). It was through her U.S. National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (NSF-REU) and undergraduate thesis work on trace elemental analysis of trout perch otoliths at the Cornell Biological Field Station that she found her passion for research.
Zipp has traveled extensively across the country pursuing that passion and addressing fisheries-related issues. She earned her master’s degree in wildlife and fisheries resources at West Virginia University, where her research focused on microplastic ingestion in black bass. During this time, she also contributed to long-term monitoring programs for brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) and conducted environmental regulatory assessments related to coal-fired power plants, examining larval fish, crayfish and zooplankton. Her travels have now taken her to the University of Maine Pelagic Fisheries Lab, where she is currently pursuing a PhD in marine biology. Zipp’s research focuses on international fisheries management and movement of highly migratory species, specifically Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus).
Zipp is passionate about science communication, community advocacy and sustainable socioecological systems. Her favorite activities include public education and outreach events where she can relay science to varied audiences from children to fishermen to policy makers. In the future, Zipp hopes to continue breaking down barriers in science communication while contributing to decision-support science that informs natural resource management. She is particularly committed to bridging the gap between science and policy, ensuring that research findings are accessible, actionable and integrated into effective resource management and conservation decisions.
In her spare time, Zipp can be found scouting out a new eatery, engaging in community service or hiking the coastlines and mountains of Maine.
During her internship, Zipp is excited to help track U.S. federal policies, engage in coalition meetings, legislative hearings and agency briefings that impact wildlife and wildlife professionals. She looks forward to communicating these findings with TWS members and aiding in communicating their work with the broader community. She is excited to support and engage with the TWS community and learn more about policy engagement.
