Gillian joined Defenders in May 2025 as a Development Database Specialist where she maximizes the Development team’s effective use of data and Defenders’ CRM database to support fundraising for the major gifts, foundations, and planned giving teams.

She first joined Defenders in September 2019 as a Conservation Science Intern at the Center for Conservation Innovation (CCI). Prior to her role at Defenders, she worked with data and granting programs at conservation non-profits, Association of Zoos and Aquariums and National Marine Sanctuary Foundation.

Originally from South Florida, Gillian earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Florida Atlantic University where she received an honors distinction for her behavioral ecology and bioacoustics research with songbirds.