Our Team Amy Cutting Vice President of Conservation Amy is vice president of conservation for Polar Bears International. She joined the team in the fall of 2022 after volunteering for more than 20 years. She has a BS in Biology from Oregon State University and an MA in Human and Animal Cognition from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Prior to joining Polar Bears International, she spent 20 years at the Oregon Zoo (one of our Arctic Ambassador Centers) as an animal keeper, senior keeper, and curator overseeing animal care and species recovery programs. During that time, she facilitated several ex situ polar bear research projects in energetics and nutritional ecology, resulting in peer-reviewed publications. She is a facilitator for the Polar Bear Research Council, a team formed to guide polar bear research priorities for the zoo community, and is passionate about building capacity at zoos and aquariums to contribute to polar bear conservation science. She is deeply honored to be joining such a strong and accomplished team of conservationists and looks forward to providing support for Polar Bears International’s programs around the globe, as well as facilitating gatherings of diverse professionals to help find consensus and concrete action steps. She is based in Portland, Oregon, where she maintains ties with the zoo as an Oregon Zoo Conservation Partner. She enjoys spending time with her wife, two daughters, and two dogs at the Oregon coast and in the beautiful Columbia River Gorge.