Jessica Meck, M.S.

Jessica Meck is a Project Manager at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute's Conservation Ecology Center, where she manages the Turtle Conservation Ecology lab. Her current research focuses on the conservation and ecology of the Wood Turtle, Spotted Turtle, and Box Turtle in the eastern United States.

Meck received her bachelor's degree in biology from Wilson College in 2015. She earned her master's degree in environmental studies with a concentration in conservation biology from Antioch University New England in 2018. Her master’s research focused on the spatial ecology and behavior of the Gulf Coast Box Turtle in the Florida Panhandle, the first known ecological study on the subspecies. Meck joined the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute as an intern in 2018 before becoming staff in 2020.  

Wildlife conservation became Meck’s passion when she volunteered with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission during her undergraduate studies. Her project focused on white-nose syndrome in bat species and population surveys in Pennsylvania cave systems inspired her to change her career path from animal keeper to wildlife ecologist. Now, her interests and research focus on reptile and amphibian conservation.