Courtney Quirin

Courtney Quirin is an award-winning American documentary filmmaker, journalist, and wildlife biologist. She directed GUARDIAN, a documentary that grapples with the erosion of federal science programs in Canada. GUARDIAN won Best Documentary Feature at the SF IndieFest and the Audience Choice Award at the Eugene Environmental Film Festival. Courtney produced Generation Growth, which explores how social determinants of health affect children’s learning success. The film won the Indiana Spotlight Award at the Heartland International Film Festival. Courtney reported for the Associated Press in Johannesburg and Al Jazeera in San Francisco. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post and the New York Times. Courtney studied farmer-primate conflict in Ethiopia, fur seal populations in New Zealand, and urban coyote habitat selection in Chicago. She has a M.S. in Wildlife Management and an M.A. in Journalism. Courtney completed two years of a PhD in wildlife ecology before switching careers.