Jessie Panazzolo
Founder of Lonely Conservationists
Sometimes people call me “THE Lonely Conservationist” which I think is hilarious because once upon a time that was probably true, but now, this community is chock full of Lonely Conservationists and it’s definitely not just me anymore!
If you have never scrolled down to see the very first and very cringe blog on this website, let me introduce myself. My name is Jessie and in 2019, I accidentally created this community of thousands of global conservationists because I was frustrated that my career or rather, lack of career, was encompassed by so much more sadness and angst than I originally anticipated. I created this blog to tell my story, never expecting that so many others would have a similar story to tell too.
With the support of this growing community of Lonely Conservationists, I have been able to provide resources and events to help conservationists care for themselves in their careers, such as these books, podcast episodes and this education program!
Now, Lonely Conservationists is at the forefront of conserving the people who work tirelessly to conserve our natural world. We have been supported by the likes of Mongabay, Australian Geographic, Shondaland, and the Smithsonian Institute and continue to work with students, volunteers and environmental professionals to empower them to value themselves in their careers.
If you feel lonely in conservation, at least now you can be certain that you’re not alone!
Caring for Conservationists
In 2022, Jessie was fortunate to work with cohorts from:
- Monash Uni’s Global Challenges program
- Melbourne Uni’s Wattle Fellowship program
- Jane Goodall Institute’s National Youth Leadership Council
- Women’s Environmental Leadership Australia
- Landcare Tasmania
- and a few international conferences here and there!
To help their staff, volunteers and students to value, advocate, and care for themselves in a conservation career while also gaining practical knowledge about how they can build sustainable lives for themselves in the environmental industry.
Each session was tailored and unique to the needs and budget of each NGO, university, or leadership program to ensure that each cohort was getting the most out of each session.
If you’d like Jessie to run a session with your volunteers, students or staff please get in touch at jessie@lonelyconservationists.com! We would love to work with your team in 2023!
