Executive Director

Entrepreneur and conservationist Zara McDonald is Founder and Executive Director of Felidae Conservation Fund, a 501c3 non-profit dedicated to advancing the conservation of wild cats and their habitats worldwide. A lifelong animal lover and outdoors advocate, Zara is a San Francisco Bay Area native who spent much of her childhood in Europe.

In 1997, after receiving an MBA from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, Zara co-founded a technology company, Volcano, Inc, which put the first GPS technology on the wrists of runners, walkers and hikers. She subsequently co-founded an equity fund, Veda Ventures, LLC that targeted sustainable start-up companies for seed capital.

A former competitive marathoner, ultrarunner and avid trail runner, Zara came into contact with mountain lions on two separate occasions during trail runs, and was moved to examine and transform the conflicts surrounding felid-human interactions. During a trip to India in 2001 she traveled to Ranthambhore and Sunderban National Park where she saw her first tigers in the wild. Moved by this experience and feeling a stronger pull to work for the protection of the natural world, she completed premed studies, obtained her Veterinary Technician certification, and launched into wildlife ecology graduate work at UC Berkeley.

While interning as a veterinary technician, she volunteered frequently for field work on wild felid captures, and these experiences underscored the importance of researching and conserving wild cats as keystone species in the ecosystem. In the fall of 2004, after extended capture work with pumas and a careful examination of the conflicts surrounding puma-human interactions, Zara concluded that updated approaches to conservation and better tools to translate the science are needed if we are to reach and educate our communities.

In 2006, with passionate encouragement and backing from colleagues and friends, Zara formed Felidae Conservation Fund to bridge the gap between science and public understanding, in order to provide more effective communication about the links between wild cats, healthy ecosystems and our own sustenance. For Felidae’s first project launch in the newly formed organization, she partnered in the Pakistan Snow Leopard Project and participated in a field expedition to the Northwest Frontier Province in Pakistan. As a leading member of the field team, she helped place the world's first GPS collar on a snow leopard, an event noted in the BBC film "Beyond the Myth." In subsequent projects, Zara has journeyed to Mongolia, Nepal, Chile, Peru, Argentina, Namibia, Borneo and throughout North America to strategize key efforts to advance the cause of wild cat research and conservation.

In 2008, Zara co-founded the Bay Area Puma Project, the first comprehensive research, education and conservation program to study and protect the SF Bay Area's keystone species. As that project continues to expand and occupy a central focus of Zara's efforts, she is also working extensively with scientists, educators, press and media around the world to promote better understanding and compelling messaging about wild cats and the importance of improving our relationship with the natural world.