Rhishja Cota
| Organization | |
|---|---|
| State | Arizona |
| Title/Position | Creative Generalist: Online Course + Content Development/ Communications |
| Department | |
| Send e-mail | |
| US Eco Regions | Mediterranean California, Warm Deserts |
| Wildland Fires |
Rhishja is currently a consultant with Ferguson Lynch LLC. She is a Stanford Certified Project Manager (Stanford Center for Professional Development, Stanford University) and received her BA degree in Government from California State University, Sacramento.
She worked as a consultant with USAID Wildlife Asia from May 2017 until June 2021, where she authored the Pangolin Species Identification Guide and was a key organizer of the first-of-its-kind pangolin care workshop in Thailand. In 2019, she also took on a short-term contract as the Online Toolkit Editor for the European Union Network for the Implementation of Environmental Law’s SPIDER WEB: Strategic Project to Increase the Detection and Disruption of Environmental Crime in the Western Balkans.
Rhishja has been researching and writing about wildlife trafficking since 2009. She founded the NGO Annamiticus in 2012, and hosted the Behind the Schemes wildlife trafficking podcast from 2012 – 2017. In 2011, she wrote and published the book Murder, Myths & Medicine.
She has journeyed to the streets of Hanoi to research the illegal wildlife trade, to the rainforests of Sumatra and Java to document the world’s rarest rhinos, and has trekked with wildlife protection rangers in Cambodia. As an NGO Delegate at CITES meetings in Geneva, Rhishja advocated in favor of protecting endangered species from economic exploitation and scrutinized the abuse of trade loopholes.
Rhishja previously served on the Board of the Tucson Herpetological Society and was the THS Vice President from 2017 – 2019. She has been quoted in the New York Times, and written for National Geographic’s News Blog – News Watch and the environmental news blog Planetsave.
When she is not consulting on creative matters, Rhishja designs quirky t-shirts, sings in the Tucson Women's Chorus, and composes ambient electronica.
Expertise
ESA (threatened and endangered species) Environmental education, interpretation, and educational outreach Communication, media relations, social media Mediterranean California Warm DesertsLatest content created by this user
| Jul 11, 2023 | Species Recovery |
|---|---|
| Apr 24, 2023 | Growing-Season Prescribed Fires and Ground-Nesting Birds: Answers for Longleaf Restoration |
| Apr 24, 2023 | Introduction to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Conservation |
| Apr 04, 2023 | Tribal and Community Based Organizations |
| Apr 04, 2023 | Federation of Southern Cooperatives Land Assistance Fund |
| Apr 04, 2023 | Black Family Land Trust |
| Apr 04, 2023 | Black Urban Growers (BUGs) |
| Apr 04, 2023 | Northeast Farmers of Color Network |
| Apr 04, 2023 | National Black Food and Justice Alliance |
| Apr 04, 2023 | Center for Heirs' Property Preservation |
