Mackenzie Borau, Ph.D.
Associate Director
Dr. Mackenzie Borau serves San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance as an Associate Director in Community Engagement. In her current role, she supervises the Community Engagement’s Conservation Science Experiential Learning sub-team, which includes the Exploring Conservation Science field trip program, Teacher Workshops in Conservation Science program and Advanced Inquiry Program (AIP) graduate degree.
Mackenzie manages, advises and facilitates the AIP, a ground-breaking online master's degree that combines web-based graduate courses through Miami University (Oxford, OH) with face-to-face experiential learning and field study at San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance sites and the surrounding Southern California region. The AIP immerses students in collaborative inquiry and action as they champion change. It is designed for students from a range of backgrounds and career stages. With professional and academic mentoring and self-designed Master Plans, students adapt their degree path to fit their interests in fields such as community-engaged conservation, inquiry-driven education, environmental justice, learning across K-12 and informal settings, animal care and welfare, green business innovation, climate change, urban ecology, human-nature relationships, environmental restoration, and public engagement in science.
Mackenzie earned her bachelor’s degree in Biology from Trinity University, Texas, and her master’s and doctorate degrees in Biological Anthropology from University of Calgary, where she researched the social behavior, nutrition, and energetics of white-faced capuchin monkeys. She gained teaching experience as an assistant and instructor for a variety of courses at the University of Calgary, and as a mentor for young women in Alberta. Mackenzie is passionate about education, wildlife, and mentorship, incorporating all three into her work with the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.