Mark Weckel

Visiting Scientist, CBC

Email:

[email protected]

Phone:

212-313-7947

Mark Weckel is Director of Youth Initiatives in the Division of Education and Affiliated Scientist with the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation.

Mark entered the informal education world through his work as a conservation scientist. His research focused on human-wildlife interaction and natural resource conflict resolution — a discipline where outreach and engagement play a central role. He received a master's degree from Fordham University, where he studied jaguar feeding ecology, and a Ph.D. from the City University of New York, where he investigated the management and population biology of suburban white-tailed deer. While pursuing his doctorate, he served as Director of Research and Land Management at the Mianus River Gorge, the first Nature Conservancy land project in the world.

In 2013, Mark joined the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation as a postdoctoral fellow, where he co-founded the Gotham Coyote Project—a collaboration of researchers, educators, and students studying the ecology of the northeastern coyote in New York City. Two years later, motivated by the belief that involving young people in the practice of science is good for both science and youth development, he joined the Youth Initiatives team as Manager of the Science Research Mentoring Program. He has been Director of Youth Initiatives since 2022.

Today his work spans ecology, community science, science communication, and youth workforce development—from AI curricula co-designed with high school students to wildflower restorations in NYC street tree beds.