Dr. Terrie Williams is a professor of biology at the University of California Santa Cruz, and has been studying large mammals for over 30 years.  She obtained her Ph.D.  in environmental and exercise physiology from Rutgers University and completed her post-doctoral studies at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the research department of the San Diego Zoological Society. 

She was director of the Valdez sea otter rescue center following the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, and co-founder of the Center for Ocean Health at Long Marine Lab.

Her research expeditions have taken her around the world to study the survival strategies of Weddell seals in Antarctica, Steller sea lions, sea otters, and killer whales in Alaska, as well as cheetahs, lions and elephants in Africa. 

Her primary question is how do large  animals survive in a rapidly changing world?  Recognizing that the key to survival for both humans and animals is food, she and her colleagues have used miniaturized instruments carried by wild animals to record the hunting strategies of both marine and terrestrial predators.  With her team, she is working with aquariums, zoological parks, research scientists and wild animals across the globe to ensure healthy environments for both people and wildlife.