About Me:
Lekelia “Kiki” Jenkins is a native of Baltimore, Maryland, where she grew up fishing and crabbing recreationally on the Chesapeake Bay. During the summers she prowled the grounds of the Baltimore Zoo as a junior zookeeper, learning about endangered species and conservation. A Meyerhoff Scholar and UNCF/Merck Fellow, she graduated with a B.S. in Biology from the University of Maryland Baltimore County. As a NSF Graduate Fellow, Kiki received her PhD from Duke University by pioneering a new field of study into the invention and adoption of marine conservation technology. Since then, she has worked as an environmental consultant for the Natural Resource Defense Council, while also actively participating in the burgeoning field of Studies in Expertise and Experience. As an AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow with the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Office of International Affairs, she helped implement new regulations to address bycatch and IUU fishing by foreign nations. Currently, Kiki is a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Washington, where her research is supported by the David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellowship and the Ford Foundation Diversity Postdoctoral Fellowship. Kiki’s research interests center on the rigorous, empirical study of the process of conservation in order to distill conservation theory and codify best practices, specifically exploring marine conservation, bycatch, conservation technology, invention, technology transfer, and diffusion of innovations. Her hobbies include teaching and participating in all forms of dance, mentoring, reading, traveling, eating good food with a view, writing poetry, costuming, imagining the possibilities, loving her friends, and loving her life.
Current Area of Employment
Academia
