Cat Kutz joins XPRIZE as the integrated communications and marketing for our Biodiversity and Conservation domain with nearly 10 years of experience as a science communicator focused on conservation, natural climate solutions, and sustainability.

She joins us from the Smithsonian Institution where she served as director of communications and marketing for a pan-institution conservation organization and led the popular Earth Optimism campaign. Cat has also previously worked for international and local conservation NGOs, including Global Wildlife Conservation (now re:Wild) and Rainforest Trust, storytelling for conservation via writing, social media, podcasts, and film to highlight biodiversity issues and solutions.

Cat studied communication, focusing on media and science communication, at George Mason University, where she also continued her education in biodiversity conservation with a focus on conservation technology. She has supported George Mason's future conservation communicators by mentoring students at the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation for the last couple of years. 

In her spare time, Cat is an avid cyclist and the world's most mediocre skier. No matter the season, you can find her enjoying nature with her son and Saint Bernard.