Kika Tuff, Ph.D.

founder, scientist, and storyteller at impact media lab

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As the founder of Impact Media Lab, Kika collaborates with scientists around the world to create multimedia storytelling campaigns that inspire curiosity, empathy, and action. She has worked with hundreds of clients, from individual P.I.'s to large scientific research institutions, to help share their research with a diverse and global audience.

Kika experiments with media as a tool to demystify the process of science and help amplify historically marginalized voices. She is formally trained in ecological research, with advanced training in visual media and science communication. She currently lives in Boulder, Colorado.

Outside of work, Kika practices her craft leading quests in a long-standing game of Dungeons & Dragons. Storytelling-as-play remains a driving philosophy of her life and work. Kika received her PhD in 2016 from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

education

Ph.D. in Ecology & Evolution: University of Colorado, Boulder (2016)
Advisor: Dr. Kendi Davies
Dissertation title: On taking a thermal approach to fragmentation research
Focus on reptile physiology, thermal ecology, habitat fragmentation, and conservation.

B.A. in Biology: Washington University in St. Louis (2003)
Advisor: Dr. Jonathan Losos
Major: Environmental Studies - Biological track
Minor: African & African-American studies

select Publications & Presentations

Creating Study-Specific Tools to Increase Community and Student Engagement.
Dunbar-Wallis, A., Jaeger, D., Suding, K., Littman, P., Baumgartner, L., Prater, M., Schuenemeyer, A., Tuff, K., Hogstad, A. B., Alam, I., & Corwin, L. (2021). Citizen Science: Theory and Practice, vol. 6, no. 1. GALE | A688529500

Climate Change Conversations: Engaging Communities in Dialogue about Impacts, Risks, and Responses
E.T. Cloyd, J.S. Dukes, J. Hellmann, K. Tuff. (2020). ESA Annual Meeting (August 3-6, 2020).

The future of ecology is collaborative, inclusive and deconstructs biases.
Ramirez, Kelly & Berhe, Asmeret & Burt, Jenn & Gil-Romera, Graciela & Johnson, Rebecca & Koltz, Amanda & Lacher, Iara & McGlynn, Terry & Nielsen, Karina & Schmidt, Ruth & Simonis, Juniper & Terhorst, Casey & Tuff, Kika. (2017). Nature Ecology & Evolution. 2. 10.1038/s41559-017-0445-7.

Branding Is Not a Dirty Word: Marketing Yourself and Your Science in a Digital World.
K. Tuff. (2017). ESA Annual Meeting (August 6-11, 2017).

Full list on Google Scholar