2020-21 Traveling Fellow (Travelled 2022-2023, due to COVID-19)
The Other Nature Project: Rethinking Conservation for the Next Generation

During her Keegan Fellowship, Frances studied the community and environmental impacts of national park systems and conservation projects around the world. With an eye towards understanding and developing more equitable conservation solutions, she explored how models of conservation proliferated around the world, surveyed conflicts surrounding protected areas, and observed the human-nature relationship across cultures, ecosystems, and borders. Backpacking, climbing mountains, scuba diving, and more, she navigated through 17 countries during her year of travel.

Hometown: Dallas, TX
Majors/Minors: Economics, Spanish/Environmental & Sustainability Studies, Business

LinkedIn

Based in the Mountain West, Frances Burton is currently a Communications Specialist at Freyja Foundation, a conservation organization dedicated to supporting innovative, scalable, and lasting conservation solutions that protect our planet’s wild places and combat the climate crisis. Deeply passionate about the intersection of conservation and social impact, she hopes to dedicate her life to protecting our planet and all its abundance of life.

Prior to working at Freyja, Frances was a Keegan Traveling Fellow, spending 14 months on the road exploring the community and environmental impacts of nature conservation across six continents, 17 countries and 50+ conservation projects. From tracking the world’s last wild horses on the Mongolian steppe to trekking across Colombia’s disappearing tropical glaciers, each week of her fellowship held a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Before her Keegan Fellowship, she spent two years living in the ski town of Dillon, CO and working at Meridian Institute, an environmental organization focused on sustainable development and collaborative problem-solving.

At Vanderbilt, Frances was a Cornelius Vanderbilt Scholar and majored in Economics and Spanish with minors in Environmental & Sustainability Studies and Business. She served as the VSG President and was involved on campus as Co-President of the College Scholars Program, a Trip Leader for the Outdoor Recreation Center, and an ASB Site Leader.

In her free time, you can find Frances active and in the outdoors—skiing, rock climbing, running up and down mountains, and more. She loves to read, watch documentaries, and practice Spanish and French.