Who I Am

Hi there! I’m Ellen Weatherford, a science communicator based in Washington state who focuses on educating general audiences about wildlife and nature with geeky humor. I grew up in northeast Florida watching Animal Planet, playing Pokémon, and reading every animal encyclopedia and textbook I could get my hands on. I’ve been swimming with manatees, chased by a flamingo, and covered with cactus needles an embarrassing number of times.

When I’m not making content, I’m probably hiking with my husband, reading science fictions novels, playing video games with my two kids, or bothering my cat.

My Work

In 2019, I turned my passion for wildlife science into a podcast called Just the Zoo of Us, which joined the Maximum Fun network in 2022 and has grown into a thriving community of listeners. I’ve collaborated with organizations like the Lemur Conservation Network, San Diego Zoo, and the Texas State Aquarium to make podcast episodes promoting conservation projects. The interviews I’ve hosted feature guests from all over the world with a wide variety of backgrounds, from deep-sea biologists and researchers at the Smithsonian to comedians and bird rockers. The podcast has received over 2 million downloads, charted among the Top 20 Science Podcasts on Apple Podcasts, and maintains consistently excellent ratings - boasting a 4.8 on Apple podcasts and perfect score of 5.0 on Spotify. I’ve been invited as a guest to many podcasts, including regular appearances on Let’s Learn Everything and Creature Feature. Check out a more complete list of my guest appearances here.

We’ve even taken the show out into the wild and hosted successful live shows in Florida. Here in the Pacific Northwest, we’ve joined our fellow nerds in touching grass by hosting highly attended local meetups for nature-focused activities like birdwatching and tidepooling throughout the Seattle metropolitan area. What Seattle freeze?

In addition to producing and hosting hundreds of podcast episodes, I also communicate wildlife science with short-form writing and videos. My scripted short videos have gained millions of views and over 100,000 followers across TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and (newly) YouTube Shorts. Here’s a recent example of a short video I wrote and recorded that received over 570,000 views on Instagram in November of 2025. I have written highly engaged posts and threads for our podcast’s social media accounts as well as social media posts for the Lemur Conservation Network. Recently, I wrote the first chapter of The Big Book of Useless Science Knowledge (2025) for the nonfiction publisher Neon Squid. I have also spoken on panels and presented to in-person audiences and classrooms.

I look forward to the adventures my career will take me on next! Want to work with me? Head over to my Contact form and drop me a message!