Abigail R. Whittaker

About Abigail R. Whittaker

I use my ecology training and a range of social science tools to understand and address conflicts between pastoralists and carnivores in Eastern Africa. Over the past 15 years, I have worked across the agricultural, environmental and development sectors; led complex projects with government agencies and NGOs; and managed high-performing teams. My driving motivation in all of these roles is serving the underserved, whether addressing rural poverty in the Global North or supporting livestock herders coping with the impacts of climate change in the Global South. I am currently pursuing my PhD at Colorado State University as a Leopold Schepp Foundation Fellow. I study how human vulnerability and other factors affect pastoralists’ willingness to tolerate living alongside large carnivores in Southern Tanzania. I also explore whether unconditional cash transfers could help to reduce this vulnerability and encourage adaptive responses to carnivore- and climate-related risks. In addition to my academic work, I am the Founder and Principal of FRACTION, a consulting firm dedicated to supporting organizations that are addressing societal and planetary challenges. I am also a member of the Center for Human-Carnivore Coexistence at CSU; the Cash for Conservation Working Group; and the IUCN Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy. I am honored to sit on the Board of the Mkuyu Ilenga Foundation in Tanzania, and am never happier than when I\'m living and working in the bush.

Experience

1. Founder Principal

   Fraction

   Sep 2025 — Present · Fort Collins, CO, US

   Providing agile expertise to mission-driven organizations addressing societal and planetary challenges• Filling the need for fractional employees in an increasingly austere funding environment• Advancing socially beneficial work through research, grant writing, community engagement, program implementation, data management, communications, and more

Education

• Colorado State University

  Graduate Certificate, Data Analysis

• Butte College

  Associate of Science (AS), Physical Sciences

  2009 — 2011

• California State University, Chico

  Graduate Study, Environmental Science

  2013 — 2014

• California State University, Chico

  Bachelor of Science (BS), Environmental Science, Applied Ecology Emphasis / Economics Minor

  2011 — 2013

• The University of British Columbia

  Graduate Study, International Forest Conservation

  2016 — 2017

• Colorado State University

  Doctor of Philosophy - PhD, Human Dimensions of Natural Resources

• Butte College

  Associate of Science (AS), Environmental Horticulture

  2007 — 2010