About Us

We develop frontier AI to amplify the voices of nature, creating new pathways for the transformation of our systems—and ourselves. Our team is made up of technology and non-profit leaders, AI researchers, engineers, and ethologists – all focused on a common goal: to decode and amplify the voice of nature and rebalance our relationship with the natural world.

Our Team

Katie Zacarian
Katie Zacarian
Cofounder · CEO
See bio
Aza Raskin
Aza Raskin
Cofounder · President
See bio
Brittany Solano
Brittany Solano
Director of Communications
See bio
Olivier Pietquin
Olivier Pietquin
Chief Scientist
See bio
Andrea Austin
Andrea Austin
Head of Operations
See bio
Jane Lawton
Jane Lawton
Director of Impact
See bio
Benjamin Hoffman
Benjamin Hoffman
Senior AI Research Scientist
See bio
David Robinson
David Robinson
Senior AI Research Scientist
See bio
Emmanuel Chemla
Emmanuel Chemla
Research Lead
See bio
Felix Effenberger
Felix Effenberger
Senior AI Research Advisor
See bio
Gagan Narula
Gagan Narula
Research Engineering Lead
See bio
Jalen Wilcox
Jalen Wilcox
Operations Associate
See bio
Jen-Yu Liu
Jen-Yu Liu
Senior AI Research Scientist
See bio
Julie Johnston
Julie Johnston
Senior Executive Admin
See bio
Kari Mertz
Kari Mertz
Operations Project Manager
See bio
Laura Hay
Laura Hay
Strategic Partnerships and Impact Manager
See bio
Maddie Cusimano
Maddie Cusimano
Senior AI Research Scientist
See bio
Maggie Haag
Maggie Haag
Development Manager
See bio
Marius Miron
Marius Miron
Senior AI Research Scientist
See bio
Matthieu Geist
Matthieu Geist
Principal Scientist
See bio
Masato Hagiwara
Masato Hagiwara
Research Lead
See bio
Milad Alizadeh
Milad Alizadeh
Principal Engineer
See bio
Sara Keen
Sara Keen
Senior Research Scientist, Behavioral Ecology and AI
See bio
Sylvie Manning
Sylvie Manning
Administrative Assistant
See bio

Our Board

Kay Firth Butterfield
CEO, Good Tech Advisory
See bio
Kay Firth Butterfield
CEO, Good Tech Advisory

Kay Firth-Butterfield is Head of Artificial Intelligence and a member of the Executive Committee at the World Economic Forum and is one of the foremost experts in the world on the governance of AI. She is a Barrister, former Judge and Professor, technologist and entrepreneur who has an abiding interest in how humanity can equitably benefit from new technologies, especially AI. Kay is an Associate Barrister (Doughty Street Chambers), Master of the Inner Temple, London and serves on the Lord Chief Justice’s Advisory Panel on AI and Law. She co-founded AI Global and was the world’s first Chief AI Ethics officer in 2014 and created the AIEthics twitter hashtag. Kay is Vice-Chair of The IEEE Global Initiative for Ethical Considerations in Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Systems and was part of the group which met at Asilomar to create the Asilomar AI Ethical Principles. She is on the Polaris Council for the Government Accountability Office (USA), the Advisory Board for UNESCO International Research Centre on AI and AI4All. Kay has advanced degrees in Law and International Relations and regularly speaks to international audiences addressing many aspects of the beneficial and challenging technical, economic and social changes arising from the use of AI. She has been consistently recognized as a leading woman in AI since 2018 and was featured in the New York Times as one of 10 Women Changing the Landscape of Leadership.

Wendy Hanamura
Director of Partnerships, Internet Archive
See bio
Wendy Hanamura
Director of Partnerships, Internet Archive

Wendy Hanamura is the Director of Partnerships at the Internet Archive, one of the world’s largest digital libraries. She helps to steward the DWeb community (GetDWeb.net) that now encompasses 11 global nodes of technologists, policymakers, artists and activists all working to build a better web. Hanamura produced the Decentralized Web Summits in 2016 & 2018, and DWeb Camp in 2019 and 2022. At the Internet Archive, her areas of responsibility include communication and content strategy, strategic planning, and partnership building, all in service of the Internet Archive’s mission: universal access to knowledge. Hanamura is also an Emmy Award-winning television producer & correspondent (CBS, NHK, PBS, KCET/Link) and serves on the boards or advisory panels of the Filecoin Foundation, Filecoin Foundation for the Decentralized Web, Unfinished Network Trust, Ruddie Memorial Youth Foundation, Harvard Asian American Alumni Alliance, and Whose Knowledge?

Brewster Kahle
Founder & Digital Librarian, Internet Archive
See bio
Brewster Kahle
Founder & Digital Librarian, Internet Archive

A passionate advocate for public Internet access and a successful entrepreneur, Brewster Kahle has spent his career intent on a singular focus: providing Universal Access to All Knowledge. He is the founder and Digital Librarian of the Internet Archive, one of the largest libraries in the world. Soon after graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he studied artificial intelligence, Kahle helped found the company Thinking Machines, a parallel supercomputer maker. In 1989, Kahle created the Internet's first publishing system called Wide Area Information Server (WAIS), later selling the company to AOL. In 1996, Kahle co-founded Alexa Internet, which helps catalog the Web, selling it to Amazon.com in 1999. The Internet Archive, which he founded in 1996, now preserves 99+ unique petabytes of data - the books, Web pages, music, television, and software of our cultural heritage, working with more than 950 library and university partners to create a digital library, accessible to all.

Britt Selvitelle
Cofounder, Earth Species Project
See bio
Britt Selvitelle
Cofounder, Earth Species Project

Computer scientist, animal rights activist, and philanthropist, Britt Selvitelle was part of the founding team at Twitter, growing the company from birth to thousands of employees. His work has led to major social change from drug policy reform to increased animal rights. Britt is focused on how humans can become better listeners.

Merlin Van Lawick
Ambassador, Jane Goodall Institute
Merlin Van Lawick
Ambassador, Jane Goodall Institute

Sean White
CEO, Inflection AI
See bio
Sean White
CEO, Inflection AI

Dr. Sean White is dedicated to the idea that science, technology, and design can improve lives. He has worked across disciplines, from computer science to nanoscale fabrication to botany building strong teams, successful companies, and global organizations. Dr. White currently works with several start-ups and nonprofits in the roles of advisor, investor, and board member. He is the former Chief R&D Officer for Mozilla. Prior to Mozilla, Dr. White was a Founder/CEO of BrightSky Labs, a company he incubated while at Greylock Partners that provided creativity tools enabled by machine learning. Previous roles include, CTO of NeoCarta Ventures, Founder/CEO of RecNet, VP of Technology for Lycos, Inc., CTO of WhoWhere?, Inc., and Head of New Mobile Forms and Experiences at Nokia.

In addition to 30+ peer-reviewed publications, 3400 citations, and 20+ patents granted, Dr. White’s award winning work received a Tech for Global Good Laureate.  Dr. White has created graduate courses at Stanford University and Columbia University as well as keynoted at IEEE and ACM conferences and served on the Steering Committee for IEEE’s International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR). Sean earned his B.S. and M.S. in Computer Science from Stanford University and his MS in Mechanical Engineering and Ph.D. in Computer Science from Columbia University.

Supporters

Earth Species Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit made possible by the generosity of visionary individuals and foundations who believe in the transformative potential of decoding animal communication. 

With support from Reid Hoffman, Chris Larsen, Steve Jurvetson, Waverley Street Foundation, National Geographic Society, and others, we are pioneering AI-driven breakthroughs that deepen our understanding of the natural world.

If you’re interested in joining our journey to decode, we’d love to hear from you. Please reach out to jane@earthspecies.org.

Our Community

Get involved in the dynamic online conversation around AI and animal communication! 

Since 2021, ESP has hosted a Discord server that brings together AI researchers, bioacousticians, ethologists and other enthusiasts from around the world.

Join our Discord Server

Working at Earth Species Project

The Earth Species Project is a fully remote global team. Our success depends on our diversity, and we strive to  create an inclusive environment that supports creativity and innovation.

Values

Committed To The Frontier

We embrace the frontier to drive our work forward. Our approach is swift and flexible, and we iterate at the speed of technology.

Collective Foresight

We work together – with a keen awareness of the levers and incentives of a system – to create an impact bigger than each one of us is capable of alone.

Provocative

We work to dismantle siloes, question the current regime, and share knowledge openly.

Moral Courage

We stand up for what is right, even in the face of adversity or dissent. We hold ourselves to the highest ethical standards and take responsibility for both the positive potential of our work, and the risks.

Playful

We are fueled by a childlike wonder of the world around us. 

Kind to Each Other

Restoring humanity's connection with nature requires empathy and connection. We champion our colleagues and strive to always do right by them.

Benefits

  • Competitive pay
  • Medical insurance, dental insurance, and vision insurance - ESP covers 100% of the premium 
  • 401k plan with match (if based in the United States)
  • Home office stipend
  • Unlimited paid time off, with a recommended minimum of three weeks per year
  • Flexible working hours
  • Collaborations with top biologists and conservation institutions in the field of behavioral ecology 
  • Opportunity to observe and participate in data collection—previous research includes bioacoustic and behavioral ecology fieldwork in Alaska, Monterey Bay in California, and the Congo rainforest
  • Regular team retreats around the world
Current Job opportunities
No current openings.