Rosemary was born in Sri-Lanka; an island teardrop nestled by its giant neighbor, India. As a young child, Rosemary lived among Lanka’s elephants, both wild and captive: animals who face a fate even more tragic than their African counterparts. One of Rosemary’s earliest childhood memories is of feeding captive elephants who frequented her childhood village to retrieve felled lumber; elephants who hauled logs over many difficult miles. The fate and lives of these splendid creatures remain etchings in her heart and mind. A violent civil war in Sri-Lanka forced Rosemary and her family to immigrate to the west. Rosemary graduated in Computer Science and Mathematics from the University of Toronto. She has a master’s degree in Geographic Information Systems from Penn State; her work as a software engineer for astronomical observatories spanned several years during which she worked for the Keck and CFHT telescopes in Hawaii, Caltech in Southern California and NASA/Ames (USRA) in Silicon Valley. In 2016, Rosemary left for Africa. Today, her work is at the intersection of disenfranchised animal and human communities; she believes that creative disruptions of outdated modalities of conservation will lead to sustainable solutions in GFMER’s efforts to liberate both animals and humans.

Background

Software Engineer for multiple ground and space based Astronomical Observatories; CFHT and Keck Telescopes in Hawaii, IPAC/Caltech in Southern California and NASA/Ames (USRA) in Silicon Valley. 

Education

Bachelor of Computer Science and Mathematics, University of Toronto

Masters of Geographic Information Systems, Penn State