Anna Willis is a J.D. candidate at the University at Buffalo School of Law, where she is pursuing a career in environmental law and wildlife advocacy. A lifelong resident of Buffalo, New York, Anna grew up exploring local parks and neighborhood backyards dense with plant and animal life. In these everyday, human-impacted landscapes, she became captivated by the lives of the nonhuman animals around her, watching raccoons forage at dusk, foxes darting across sidewalks, and birds building homes in grocery store parking lots. These early experiences sparked not just a love for nature, but a lasting curiosity about how animals navigate and persist within environments shaped by people.

While traveling across the country in various conservation and environmental roles, Anna became inspired by the vast landscapes of the American West and the many organizations working there to protect wildlife. These experiences exposed her to the complex, often interconnected ways that policy, law, and community engagement shape our relationship with the natural world. From wildlife rehabilitation to environmental education and field research, she has worked across many aspects of the conservation field, gaining a holistic perspective on how collaboration can drive meaningful change.

As Project Coyote’s Law and Policy Intern, Anna hopes to support legal and policy efforts to promote coexistence with North America’s native carnivores. She hopes to use her experiences to help connect people more deeply to the places they live, and foster empathy for other species.