absorb.md

About Cait McDonald

Event Producer at TED

Compiled from 9 entries (9 articles) / updated 1d ago / v1

Cait McDonald is an Event Producer at TED specializing in food and agriculture topics, with a background as a DVM/PhD candidate at Cornell University's Zamudio Lab focused on herpetology, wildlife disease research, and inclusive STEM practices. Her work bridges scientific research and teaching excellence in ecology and evolutionary biology (EEB) with broader interests in burnout prevention, personal healing, spirituality, and community building. She emphasizes diversity in STEM, cultural behaviors shaping workplace wellness, and the integration of personal values with professional systems.

Academic and Research Career in Herpetology

Cait McDonald, a DVM/PhD candidate at Cornell University, contributed to wildlife disease research, including work on genomics-era challenges with 26 citations.[4] She was named CALS EEB Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant for teaching multiple EEB courses.[7][9]

Advocacy for Diversity and Inclusion in STEM

McDonald signed onto Inclusive Herpetology, supporting equitable practices in herpetology research.[3] She co-authored content on diversity in STEM within the Zamudio Lab.[2]

Workplace Burnout and Culture

As a podcast guest, McDonald explored how perfectionism, people-pleasing, and unclear values fuel burnout, linking personal habits to workplace culture.[1]

Spirituality, Healing, and Personal Reflection

McDonald engaged in spiritual communities, commenting on missions like 'Jesus Estas Aqui' and sharing personal milestones such as defending her doctorate amid reflections on grief and spiritual practices like Dolly Parton's.[5][6]

Professional Transitions

From graduate research and teaching to Event Producer at TED (food/agriculture focus), with prior roles like Project Coordinator involving community-focused blogging.[8]

Key themes

Diversity and Inclusion in STEM

Commitment to equitable practices in scientific fields, particularly herpetology.

  • Signatures on Inclusive Herpetology petition [3]

  • Contributions to Zamudio Lab diversity category [2]

Wildlife Disease Research and Teaching Excellence

Research on genomics in wildlife diseases and recognized teaching in EEB.

  • 3 research works with 26 citations [4]

  • CALS EEB Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant [7][9]

Burnout Prevention and Workplace Culture

Personal behaviors like perfectionism drive burnout within organizational systems.

  • Podcast on habits fueling work burnout [1]

Spirituality and Personal Healing

Engagement with faith communities and reflections on grief/spiritual practices.

  • Comment on healing mission [5]

  • Doctorate defense amid Christmas grief notes [6]

Professional and Community Leadership

Transitions from academia to TED event production, with community coordination.

  • Event Producer at TED (bio)

  • Project Coordinator with community blog [8]

Sources (9)

Every entry that fed the multi-agent compile above. Inline citation markers in the wiki text (like [1], [2]) are not yet individually linked to specific sources — this is the full set of sources the compile considered.

  1. FRIED. The Burnout Podcast: Burnout at Work Isn’t Just the Workplace: The Behaviors Shaping Your Culture with Cait Donovanpodcast_episode · 2026-04-14
  2. Category: diversity in STEM - Zamudio Labarticle · 2026-04-14
  3. Signatures - Inclusive Herpetology - WordPress.comarticle · 2026-04-14
  4. Cait Mcdonald's research works | Cornell University and other placesarticle · 2026-04-14
  5. Jesus Estas Aqui - Healing Nationsarticle · 2026-04-14
  6. Lil Treasures #56: Christmas Grief and Dolly Parton's Spiritual Practicearticle · 2026-04-14
  7. teaching – Zamudio Labarticle · 2026-04-14
  8. [PDF] Caitlin G. McDonald, M.A.article · 2026-04-14
  9. May 2019 – Zamudio Labarticle · 2026-04-14