LAURA THOMAS-WALTERS
Employment
Deputy Director
July 2023 - Current
Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, Yale University.
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Deputy Director of the Experiments Team
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Climate change and extreme weather messaging experiments
Postdoctoral Scholar
August 2022 - June 2023
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences, Oregon State University
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Social diffusion of dietary behaviours
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Relational organising as a method of spreading environmental behaviours
Senior Advisor
March 2022 - August 2022
Strategic Behavioural Insights Team in UK's Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)
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Research on effective behavioural interventions
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Mapping behavioural work across DEFRA to inform current policy
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
August 2020 - March 2022
Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling
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Interactive games as a research and behaviour change tool
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Resolving stakeholder conflicts between food security and biodiversity conservation
Education
PhD
2016 - 2020
Biodiversity Management, University of Kent
Thesis title: “Behaviour change for demand reduction in the illegal wildlife trade”
MRes
2015 - 2016
Biodiversity, Evolution and Conservation, University College London
Thesis title: “Psychological insights into conservation marketing techniques”
BSc (Hons)
2012 - 2015
Animal Science, University of Kent
First Class
Teaching and Outreach
University of Stirling
Guest lecturer, Ecology and Conservation BSc (Hons). 2021-22
University of Kent
Guest lecturer, Conservation and International Wildlife Trade MSc , 2017-20
Outreach ambassador, Faculty of Social Sciences, 2017-20
Guest lecturer, Animal Science BSc (Hons), 2015-20
Education tutor, 2017-20
Speaker, Canterbury, 2019
Conferences and Presentations
2023
Livestock, Environment and People (LEAP) Conference
Presentation. “How do we persuade existing meat-reducers to encourage their friends and family to also adopt more plant-based diets?”
PHAIR Society Animal Advocacy Conference
Presentation. “How do we persuade existing meat-reducers to encourage their friends and family to also adopt more plant-based diets?”
Society for Personality and Social Psychology Sustainability Preconference
Presentation. “Experimental evidence on the impact of framing actors and victims in conservation narratives”
2021
International Congress for Conservation Biology
Workshop. “The future of video games in conservation: a versatile tool for research and practice”
Presentation. “Understanding the market drivers behind the reduced demand for ivory products in Japan”
SPSP Sustainability Preconference
Poster. “Stakeholder decision-making in natural resource management: A synthesis of experimental games”
SCB Conservation Marketing Working Group
Webinar. “A systematic review of conservation efforts using non-monetary, non-regulatory incentives to promote voluntary behaviour change”
2020
DICE Twitter Conference
Presentation. “Understanding the market drivers behind the reduced demand for ivory products in Japan”
SCB Social Science Student & ECR Twitter Conference
Presentation. “A systematic review of conservation efforts using non-monetary, non-regulatory incentives to promote voluntary behaviour change”
DICE Twitter Conference
Presentation. “Targeted values: The relevance of classical Chinese philosophy for illegal wildlife demand reduction campaigns”
SCB Social Science Student Twitter Conference
Presentation. “Motivations for wildlife use and consumption”
2019
University of Kent Postgraduate Research Showcase
Poster. “Reducing demand for sea turtles in Sao Tome”. Winner of 2 prizes
2018
Evidence to Action: Research to Address the Illegal Wildlife Trade
Workshop. “Characterising the consumers of the wildlife trade”
European Congress of Conservation Biology
Presentation. “Taking a more nuanced look at demand reduction”