Kami Koyamatsu, MA

Kami is inspired by the natural world. She wants to pique people's interest in nature, and hopes to motivate children and adults to preserve the environment, looking outside their normal lives to the wildlife that is so easily forgotten. Kami has always had a fondness for the natural world. She grew up in the boonies just outside of the Greater Seattle area. She has always had a split interest in art and conservation. She attended the University of Washington where she majored in Wildlife Conservation but took as many art classes as possible because she could not escape her love of creating art. After undergrad she found the Certificate Program offered by UW for Natural Science Illustration. This combined her love of art and wildlife. Although this led her to a fond hobby, Kami searched for more and found the Advanced Inquiry Masters Program. This program strives to ignite social and ecological change. Kami was able to combine her passions while learning to engage audiences in conservation actions. She has been successfully published in an online magazine, Current Conservation, has created infographics to share information on bats and to encourage ecological friendly behaviors, and has led bat walks for her local community.