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March is Women’s History month, and we want to highlight some of the amazing women here at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on our social media sites.

Name: Sandra Doran (Sandie)

Title: Fish and Wildlife Biologist, Endangered Species and Conservation Planning

Duty station: New York Field Office

Female Conservation Hero or Mentor: Rachel Carson, Terry Tempest Williams.

Where did you go to school or military branch? SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry College in Syracuse, NY

What did you study? Fish and Wildlife Biology with a Concentration in Wetland Ecology

How did you get interested in conservation? I was born an outdoors woman. My mother tells me that as a baby, she would wrap me up in a blanket with my arms all tucked in and put me outside to get fresh air…for hours… ☺ Being involved in Brownies and Girl Scouts. My family would take camping trips to Ontario Canada every summer between the ages of 8-12. We stayed in a cabin on a lake for a couple weeks a year. That is where I caught my first fish (a northern pike when I was about 10), take long hikes, and listen to birdsong and water lapping at the shore. We spent lots of time on the water in boat or a canoe, swimming and exploring nearby islands. I learned how to build a camp fire and just enjoy the natural world around me. I remember throwing minor fits when it was time to come inside, only to fall fast sleep listening to the adults play folk music.

What’s your favorite thing about working for FWS? My favorite thing working as a Fish and Wildlife Biologist is working in the New York Field Office with my colleagues on species’ recovery, research projects and conservation planning.

What’s your favorite species and why? Wolves. Mysterious survivors.

If you could have one incredible animal adaptation, what would it be?