Yula Kapetanakos

Yula brings more than two decades of international conservation experience to the team — a career spanning a wide range of species and people, constant learning, and no shortage of adventure. She believes the most successful path to conservation is through listening, building connections, and staying inspired.

Yula joins us most recently from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, where she served as an International Program Specialist with the International Affairs Combating Wildlife Trafficking (CWT) program. Her time at FWS began in 2015 as an AAAS Fellow with the U.S. CITES Scientific Authority, and in 2017 she joined the newly formed CWT Branch, managing a grant portfolio and partnering with organizations worldwide to combat illegal wildlife trade. She helped shape the Species Conservation Catalyst Fund and led its Cheetah Initiative, while also championing DEIJ awareness within FWS.

Earlier in her career, Yula was an Animal Curator with the Wildlife Conservation Society, and later earned her PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Cornell, studying old-world vulture conservation genetics from Kazakhstan to Cambodia (yes, she answers to “vulture lady”). She went on to produce conservation films with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Multimedia Unit.

Outside of work, Yula is happiest outdoors, in the woods or on the water. Raised in the DC area by Greek immigrant parents, she’s an enthusiastic home cook now settled in New York’s Finger Lakes region, slowly learning jazz guitar and studying Jeet Kune Do.